nie Sines 


: f ae aN “fe r 
te ete 1A ma Bay it 1 i oh iehis iS 


A iy si SROEASEY ues at rieRnan a 
does centrale x vel RAR 
ie eunnaery iy nan a ane aa aldeiviniety Eehtvonrse Spite aiishe 
odd ahd ya nina Me LEBEN 
And wu spatter te etlelaint By Rath sletyhels Rivlin hidsie RAT By ie eae 
a Veleiy eb inf 


saovtt fava Rae Riga hacige stergistis 


f es Beets 


Lathan 

x ryipitbesely 

fest gear. 
Sihueiaribicts 


it nabs bane fats irate ear 
CEDIA as 


: aaa 
aN : ee perro SARRRRY phate i : jet 
: ; c RON ey Bit a Tae Tshaspeye nse Suey ify: 
saat BORA Me “ Tela ly betes be, Pintelos 


Sr oN Penne npr nr 
Bas aan Sanaa ae Saris 
me a mie eeevane Raa eae 
Oy ash Seat nance: POS an aanr ; 
esenes Cntr ac assets str peeeaeeiey Mintartcre arr 


Paeearey 
RaPRSADER EAN oe 
Bae REFS Raman ERRARR Jane ae Ee A sere 


petnceuens SPSS AR RA ite = 
AE SONA 
Teak levelgiaie 


STN TUS RY 
Lint Sheed costae oo 


a hgueetenss Aten top 2 


Peace 


EPR ECOL N A PASES eee 


rere 


PEP AL PALES SIAR SALLE GAS BEE BERLE ESL PAOS 8 
SH a ene 


Batt hPL Pots 


Mas teh pees 


bi rtytetcytre tet od 




















YG Fie 


Ze. 





z 
iS) 
[ comal 
n 
”) 
td 
oO 
oO 
<x 











a 





4° 4, ¥ 
‘ie 1 
ae 
i 
- 7 
= 
; 
' 
# 
; ' 
is 
4 
7 
2 
F 
es 
.7 
re 
2 
‘ 








HOUSE PAINTING 
METHODS 


WITH THE 
BRUSH AND SPRAY GUN 


INDUSTRIAL PAINTING ON STEEL, IRON, 
CEMENT, BRICK AND WOOD SURFACES 


BY 
F.N. VANDERWALKER 


Gradyate in ¢ commerce, Nartkwwestern, University , 
Edito?, A Anges: can Ravarer dnd Pecoratar 2 


PAD AO hed! + 3 


Author ae Biot Wall Décoration” ae The Mixing ‘of’ 
Colorsand Paints” “Estimates, Costs and 
Profttss’ 5; A utoraobile °Paintitig’: eee 
ah jew. Stencils and. Theirs’ 3°03 eve 
een etc, OPS a ak wae 


ILLUSTRATED 


CHICAGO 


Pier orRiCkK | DRAKE & CO. 
PUBLISHERS 


B 


FREDERICK J. 








he 
Re 


es oO 


inted in the United Stat 


PE 





PREFACE 


THE scope of this book has been confined to a con- 
sideration of methods, materials and tools essential to 
the painting of exterior surfaces of wood, metal, brick 
and cement. . 

An attempt to present the essentials of the whole 
trade of painting and interior decorating in one book 
is not an undertaking conceived in wisdom, the author 
believes. This is a trade which is indeed extensive as 
it touches upon craftsmanship, art, chemistry and 
science. A mere understanding of how many kinds of 
work are done is not enough, but rather a full knowledge 
of details is essential, to the end that the painter can 
go out and perform the work in an expert manner. Of 
course no book, or set of books, is sufficient in itself 
to assure such ability. Experience and practice at the 
work are necessary. Good books, however, speed the 
acquisition of knowledge and skill in any line of busi- - 
ness, because good books are simply the record of the 
experiences and knowledge of those who have gone be- 
fore and those who are active in the work today. 

A brief examination of books which attempt to cover 
the whole trade between the two covers of a single 
volume discloses the omission of many important de- 
tails. Many of the subjects have been merely out- 
lined, others have been omitted entirely, leaving much 
to the student’s imagination and taking for granted too 
much knowledge in the possession of the student. 

Therefore, to avoid such omissions of important in- 
formation the author’s plan has been to cover the main 


A SFOS 


PREFACE 


branches of the trade of painting and interior decorat- 
ing in four books bearing the titles— 

The Mixing Of Colors and Paints 

Interior Wall Decoration 

House Painting Methods 

Wood Finishing, Plain and Decorative 

It was the author’s plan and ambition to record in 
these four books all of the necessary details about work- 
ing methods of today, new and commonly used tools 
and modern materials likely to be needed by the painter 
who is doing any of the common tasks in his field in 
a first class and standard manner. Of what measure of 
success has attended these efforts you are the judge. 
If these books are found practical and useful in your 
everyday tasks of the trade they are accomplishing all 
that the author hoped for them. 

F. N. VANDERWALKER. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTFR I 
A SuRVEY or THE MarkeT:—Purposes Served by Paint.. 17 
CHAPTER II 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS, DESCRIPTION, USES 
‘AND CARE: — Bristles — Construction — Care — Reclaiming 
Hard Brushes—Use—Holding—Spreading Paint—Bridling 
—Flat Wall Brush—Stuceo Brush—Metal-Bound Brush— 
Oval Brushes—Sash Brushes—Varnish Brushes—Water 
Color—Calcimine—Whitewash—Duster—Wall Stippling— 
Artists’—Freseco Angle Liners—Roof Painting—Floor 
Waxing—Brick Liners—Stencil Brushes—Soft Flowing— 
Flat Color Brush—Badger Hair Blender—Graining— 
eID DIOR. sa’. ee ei wc ete e's « MIE ee eas eia ca eee 22 


CHAPTER III 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PaInTING EQuiPMENT:—Spray Guns— 
Air Compressor — Automatic Governor Unloader— Air 
Storage Tank—Power Units—Paint Storage Tank—Air 
and Material Regulating Devices—Material Agitators— 
Spray Gun MHandles—Hose and Connections—Oil and 
Water Separator—Trucks and Skids—Whitewash and 
INNER EL Maio) aa oe 's a 'e)e2e «0° a «ee a'p/eins 0/4 0%e, + coscees 63 


CHAPTER IV 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND Swine Sraces:—Trestles—Step- 
ladders — Single Ladders — Extension Ladders — Seaffold 
Planks—Platform Ladders—Ladder Extension Feet Plate 
—Steel Ladder Shoes—Rung Repair Plate— Ladder 
Brackets—Roof Ladder Hooks—Window Bracket—Adjust- 
able Folding Scaffold—Ladder Bracket—Swing Stages— 
Stirrups—Pulley Block—Rope Falls—Rope Materials— 
Care of Ropes, Storing, Lubricating, Inspecting—Hoisting 
Machine—Cornice Hooks—Knots and Hitches—Special 
EIR UIRMCTA Gos 5 wie vivian ck sess ecveccie vice ss NeCeE ead eet eect. 58 


CHAPTER V 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TooLs:—Blow Torch Burner— 
Acetylene Gas Burner—Putty Knife—Scraping Knife— 
Rubbing Pad—Brush Extension Handle—Paint Strainers 
—Paint Mills—Paint Mixing Machines—Mixing Paddles 
—Palette Knife—Pots and Tubs—Paint Agitator—Wall 
Seraper— Steel Wire Brushes—-Sand Bellows — Bung 
Spouts, Gates and Faucets—Moulding Scrapers—Ship 
Scraper — Glass Cutters — Pliers — Hammers — Automatic 


PAGE 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Putty Gun—Glass Board—*‘T’’ and ‘*L’’ Squares—Drop 
Cloths — Floor Surfacing Machines — Sandpaper — Steel 
Wool—Felt Pads—Pointing Trowel.........eeeeees wvese 


CHAPTER VI 
PaIntTER-MixEp House Parnts:—General Mixing Facts— 
Pure White Lead—Mixing Methods for White Lead— 
Straining—Adding Tinting Colors—Quantities Needed 
—Standard Formulas for White Paint—Extra Drier Needed 
—Amount of Paint in Pounds—Zine. Oxide—Floor Paints 
—Mixing Putty—Whitewash—OColored Whitewash—Paint 
for Weather-Beaten Surface........... ale Vag auelene ee ees 


CHAPTER VII 


TINTING CoLorS AND THEIR USE:—Ground in Oil—Character- 
isties —- Opaque — Transparent— Fading— Mixing Colored 
Paints—Dark Colors—Color Cards and Formulas—Black 
—Gray—Brown—Y ellow—Red—Blue—Green—Dark Colors 


CHaptEeR VIII 


Factory Rrapy-Mrxep Paints:—Mixing Prepared Paints— 
Adding More Liquids—Changing Colors—Bulking Value 
of Pigments — Titanium Oxide — Lithopone — Whiting— 
Silica—Barytes—Asbestine—Stock White—Prince’s Min- 


GVA ates Vemteieie cts eoeoesne @eeoeoevoeeeeneeee @ eeesvevoeeveeeeoeee eevee 


CHAPTER IX 


Paint OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS:—Purpose of 
Paint Oil—Drying Oils—Linseed Oil—Testing—Paint De- 
fects Caused by Adulterated Oils—Prepared Oils—China 
Wood Oil (Tung)—Soya-Bean Oil—Menhaden Fish Oil 
—Kerosene and Petroleum Oils—Creosote Oil—Turpentine 
—Substitutes—Mineral Spirits—Benzine—Benzol—Solvent 
Naphtha— Amyl Acetate — Aleohol—Driers— Paint Re- 
movers—Formulas % s.:. 3.4 \'.'s bse 6 eases eee 


CHAPTER X 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING:—Corrosion—Paint Tests— 
Ratings of Metal Paints—Red Lead—Testing—Mixing 
Formulas—Blue Lead—Graphite—Aluminum Bronze Paints 
—Ameriean Vermilion—Para Red Vermilion—Preparation 
of Surfaces — Tools — Sand-blast Machines — Pneumatic 
Scaling Hammers—Steel Wire Brushes—Iron and Steel 
Surfaces—Galvanized Iron—Tin Plate—Zine and Copper 
—Number of Coats Needed—Brushing, Spraying, Dipping 


CHAPTER XI 


CEMENT AND Brick PAINTS AND PAINTING:—Neutralizing 
New Cement—Old Cement Surfaces—Mixing the Paint— 
Brushing—Spraying—Cement Floors—New and Old Brick 
Surfaces—Staining Brick—Lining s.sy) ve.see ue eee 


121 


144 


172 


189 


203 


230 


@ 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


CHAPTER XIT 


A Srupy or Woops snp Surracrs:—Penetration and An- 
chorage—Expansion and Contraction—Cracked and Scaled 
Paints—White Pine—Hard Pine—Poplar—Cypress—Doug- 
las Fir—Hemlock—Cottonwood—Basswood—Redwood—Ce- 
dar—Chestnut ....ccccecsecrecccces Wee alp tel eiaisla c'aedharatie 


CHAPTER XIII 


Estimating MaAreriAL Requirep:—Measuring Surfaces— 
Covering Capacity of Paint—New and Old Wood Surfaces 
—New and Qld Brick Surfaces—Cement and Metal Sur- 
faces—Shingle Stains—Measuring Structural Iron Surfaces 


CHAPTER XIV 


A Jos or PAINTING WiTH THE BrusH:—Mixing and Tinting 
—Seaffolds—Tools—Preparing the Surface—Knots—Prim- 
ing Coat— Brushing — Puttying — How many Coats?— 
Where to Begin—Rain Gutters—Weather—Removing Old 
Paint—Bare Spots—Exterior Doors—Enamel........++++ 


CHAPTER XV 
Painting Witrn THE Spray Gun:—Size and Kind of Equip- 
ment—Management—Scaffold Equipment—Surface Condi- 
tions—Spread or Pattern—Holding Gun at Correct Angle 
—Distance from the Surface—Movement—Air Pressure 
Balance—Cleaning the Gun—Care of Machinery—Number 
of Coats—Time and Materials—Health—Durability— 
Drying Time—Creeping and Crawling....... soe ay?s ake aera 


CHAPTER XVI 


EXxtTERIon STAINS AND STAINING:—Dipping Shingles—Mottled 
Colored Roofs—Suitable Stains—Stain Formulas—Brown 
—Green—Red—Black—Blue—Silver-Gray—Liquids ...... 


CHAPTER XVII 


PamntTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES :—Surface—Paint 
—Workmanship—Weather—Cracking and Sealing—Blister- 
ing and Peeling—Checking and Alligatoring—Chalking— 
Loss of Gloss—Washing—Tacky and Slow-Drying Paint— 
Runs, Sags and Wrinkles—Creeping and Crawling—Flies, 
Gnats and Dust—Streaking—Fading—Yellowing—Discol- 
oration—Spotting ......sseeeeeeeeees Bis sien i6 oa miss, 0180 


CHAPTER XVIII 


Toe Pamnt SuHor:—Location—Plans—Lighting—O ffice— 
Material and Tool Stockroom—Paint Mixing Facilities— 
The Shop Man—Finishing Room.......sseeeseeeseeeees 


CHAPTER XIX 


OxipizINc Copprr SurRFACES:—Verdigris Green Finishes— 
Natural Copper Patina—Formulas..........-see cece eee 
es nis cu ¢ cw abies vial weiss hie ave eG nue ees en aa 


272 


285 


299 


316 


344 


350 


374 





PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 


PLATE 


PLATE 


PLATE 


PLATE 


PLATE 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 
1—Standing Property in the United States...... 18 
2—Illustrating the Need for Painting............ 19 
3—Hog Bristles and Horse Hair.............+-. 23 


4—(A) Showing the Distribution of Bristles 
(B) How a Toppy Brush Flares Out 
(C) Showing the Shape of Good Brushes.... 26 
5—The Principal Parts of a Brush.............. 28 
6—What Happens to a Brush not Cleaned Soon 
Enough or Improperly. The Paint, Varnish or 
Shellac Brush Becomes Hard up Next to the 


Metal Ferrule Binding.........cccceceescees 32 
7—Types of Brush Keepers in Use..........-+-- 33 
8—Working the Brush into the Paint............ 36 


9—(A) One Way to Hold a Brush for Large Flat 
Surfaces. Rather an awkward hold for some sur- 
faces, but a good change to rest the hand. 
(B) The Common and Correct Holding of a 


Brush ..ccccsceccocccers adukeCate nun'b¥ais reli <rshetn ste 37 
10—A Brush Worn into a Fish Tail Shape. From 
exerting too much pressure in the center...... 38 


11—(A) An Oval or Round Brush. Note bristles 
chiseled on two sides 
(B) When the brush is allowed to turn around 
in the hand while working it is worn into a 
point and is then useless..... “Faces eo 39 
12—(A and C) The brush used at too great an angle 
(B) Keep the brush working as nearly at right 
angle to the surface as is practical, not inclined 
too much as in A and C 
(D) Showing what happens to a brush used. 
habitually at too great an angle.........++++. 40 
13—A brush used in a poking manner soon gets out 
of shape. The bristles get crooked and the flag 
ends turned out of shape......... er Cb 42 
14—A big brush which was improperly used endwise 
to do the work of a small brush on narrow 
MOUIGINGS ...ceeccecceceeceeceescsrerrres Cesmyae 
15—Lay the brush on the surface to draw the bris- 
tles out to a sharp edge. Then a clean, straight 
line can be painted on sash, panels and trim.. 43 


PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 


ILLUSTRATIONS: 
PAGE 
16—(A) The method used to bridle brushes by 
binding with twine 
(B) The metal bridle put on by brush manu- 


facturers; in common use NOW..........-..00- 45 
17—A Flat Wall Brush....... 4 oRils.ci0 4 ee eee . 46 
18—Flat. Wall Stucco Brush. 2.0... 2. scene 47 
19—Flat Wall Brush with Metal Wedged Binding... 47 
20—Oval Varnish or Paint Brushia2. eee eee 48 
21—Fiat Sash Brush... ..os9.ls os see eeneeneee ete ee 49 
22—Oval. Sash Brush. <4. 0+ «1 lee 49 
23—Flat Varnish Brush. ....:s\.. <r ie eee 50 
24—-Water Color or Cover Brush.................. 50 
25—Flat Calcimine Brush... 22. Segre re ieee 51 
26—Dutch Calcimine Brush:.. sass eee ies 52 
27—Whitewash “Brush. .. 000600 sesso eneeetnle «8 
28—Round Duster Brush... .<svesscs. cewek wean 53 
29—Flat Duster Brush... ccc. cceeassseuenscesane 54 
30—Wall Stippling Brush......... eae aib.6 Web dnaes arene 54 
31—Flat Artists’ Brosh}... 2.2 ss assem ea BD 
32—Fresco Angle Liners.............. Ee rt 56 
33-——Flat Roof Painting ‘Brushi.>.,, 3179 eee 56 
34—Round Roof Painting Brush.................. 57 
35—Floor Waxing’ Brush... ..s. + sat eee 57 
86—Brick Liner’ Brush... 7% o:.0 0 see eee eee 58 
37—Stencil Brush 20.0.0. anen 5 50s oe 58 
38—-Freseo Stencil’ Brosh. . >. ssa). sateen 59 
39—Soft Flowing Brush... 2330. 59 
40—Fitch Flowing’ Brush... .'.. 02s epee een 60 
41—Badger Flowing’ Brush... 25 «.c.ssieeeeneee 60 
42—Flat Color Brush, . . 3:1. << is ele uneeetmnnea ener 61 
43-——Badger. Hair Blender. ... .i.cn)m ieee 61 
44—Graining Stippler . os sshd steele ean eh ee 
45—Binks No. 105 Airway Paint Gun (top) 

DeVilbiss Type A Spray Gun (bottom)...... 65 
46—Matthews Material Gun, Volume F, (top) 

Beach Model A-1 Air Brush (bottom)........ 66 
47—Wold Air Brush D-1 (top) 

Paasche Air Brush Type N&S (bottom)...... 67 
48—-Sprayco Model 7-A Paint Gun (top) 

MaeLeod Paint Sprayer (bottom)....... ie veeoe 
49—(A) Eureka Spray Gun 135 

(B) Simons Paint Spray Brush......... she 69 
50—Air Storage Tank, Air-Cooled Compressor and 

Automatic Governor Unloader.,.. s'stss sian 70 
51—Paint Storage Tank. .... 02a co.cee enee 73 
52—Air and Material Regulating Device.......... ar 


58—Oil and Water Separator......... 0.0 Fase 78 


PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

54—Air Compressor and Power Unit Mounted on 
RL CG ined as a a 66 oi Widnleaeues seie-s piatats wees Pe 

55—Whitewash Spray Pump........... Hie ese ste ves 80 
56—Spray Tank and Pump..........sseeeeeeeees 81 
57—Painters’ Trestles ........-e+sseses Walsta'a's = wis 84 
58—Combination Trestle and Step Ladder......... 86 
59—Steel Trestle .......-cesecsceccees Brete ola eiehe 87 
60—Adjustable Steel Trestle.........seeeeeeseees 87 
G1—Step Ladder .....seeeeeceereceersceererecee 88 
62—Single Long Ladder............-+ seer eeeeee 89 
Go extension LAdGer 8.0... ee ee eee eens 89 
Peeeriattorm Ladders 2... 06 ee eee of 
65—Ladder Extension Feet.......:......eeeeees 92 
66—Steel Ladder Shoes.........:-.-s eee eeeeececs 93 
67—Rung Ladder Repair Plate.........--+++-e+e- 93 
G8—Ladder .Brackets .......6-.-- cee ene rere weece 94 
69—Roof Ladder Hooks........-+-s-sseeecceceee 95 
70—Window Bracket ........ceeecseecceesesccece 95 
71—Adjustable Folding Scaffold.........seeeeees pee 
71-A—Safety Extension Trestle........sseeeseeee 97 


72—Special Scaffold Units to be Assembled for Any 
OW Uae sve voices Pitestes Aig ates cele wiasn vcciciniy 69's 


73—Ladder Bracket .....csesessececcessrcseseres 98 
74—Safety Ladder Bracket.......eeeseseeeceees 98 
75—Adjustable Leg Step Ladder..........-+++++ 99 
WO—Swing Stage .....ccssvesercssrsecsresereccs 100 
77—Swing Stage StirrupS......-.-+-+-sesssereees 101 
78—Swing Stage Ladder Bracket........+++++++- 102 
79—Cornice Hook Extension Bracket.......+.-+++- - 103 
80—Pulley Block for Swing Stage Fall Ropes.....- 103 
81—Swing Stage Rope Falls........seeeeeeeeeees . 104 
82—Hoisting Machines ......---seseeeereeereres 109 
83—Proper Placing of Cornice Hooks........-.-- 112s 
84—The Rope Lookout.......eeeeeeereeeererccee 114 
85—Cantilever Lookout ....seeeeeeeeeeeeeces te ees 
86—Ropes, Knots and Hitches........+++eee-eees 115 
86-A—Method of Rigging Fall Ropes for Swing 
BtAEG i icc ha sive es tcwccoe sew ewerseccesoene 116 
87—Special Built-up Scaffold......+++eeeeeeeeees 117 
88—Seaffold Built up with Lumber..........+.+. 119 
89-—Sawhorse Scaffold on Wheels for Spray Painting 120 
90—Blow Torch Paint Burner......... Beslw alnrvlete's,« 122 
91—Acetylene Gas Paint Burner.......-++-+++++- 124 
92—Putty Knife ......:.-sssescessersrccrsecers 124 
93—Scraping or Stopping Knife and Glass......-. 125 
94—Rubbing Pad ......-sesceccescscescrsceeces 125 
95—Brush Extension Handle..........-+eeee reece 126 
96—Paint Strainers ......cceeeececereesrescecces 127 
97—Paint Mills for Grinding.........+seeeeeeees 128 
98—Paint Mixing MachineS..cesssssereresrreces . 129 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
COLOR 

PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 
PLATE 


PLATE 
PLATE 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 
99—Mixing Paddles .. «ci. sas. ss» «6 ene 130 
100—Palette Mixing Knife.......... "sso. Oelne Seneete eee 131 
101—Pots and Tubs for Paint Mixing...... Paia o taeeany 131 
102—Paint Agitator of a New Type........0.2.4.. 132 
103—Steel Wire Brushes for Cleaning.............. 133 
104—Sand Bellows <... sos ss sds ¢ be diana 134 
105—Bung Spout, Gate and Faucet................ 135 
106—Moulding Seraper .525.0... sacs een Paes tloe 
107—Ship Scraper... 0s cis esis stele oleae eee 136 
108—Glass Cutters 2. : 3.4 ses 'ely nis 9 Geen 136 
109—Glass ‘Pliers... .5'. «0 <« ¥ 3 -y1sie1s en 137 
110—Glaziers’ Hammer. 0.5). \c a cee een 137 
111—Automatic. Putty Guns). gi eee ee 137 
112—Glass Cutting Board... .2%..)c:nmeeeeee 138 
113—Glaziers’ *¢T’? “Square: 2.5: ae eee 138 
114—Glaziers’ ‘*L?’ Squares, ccs eee eee 139 
115—Floor Surfacing Machines. ii) 5 eee 140 
116—Electric Floor  Finishers.; 12. ene 140 
117—Hand Made. Floor Surfacer. 2o2 eet ens 142 
118—Sandpaper Holder 43... 20.5 ane 143 
119—Pointing Trowel ..... 0 6 60 0:6 cnek grain ne irom beak 143 
CARDS 02:15 x disbale ot eins. gt ea ae os go's sateen Mette Ligs pn as 
120—Home Made Paint Scrapers....2:222.1.5..+-08 251 
121—Sand-Blast and Spray Painting Machine...... 253 
122—Pneumatie Air Rust Sealing Hammer.......... 254 
123—Revolving Steel Wire Brush. «is sicol's: abmabibe Fapirah oust ky «ane 
124—-Simple Building Outlines for Estimating...... 286 
125—Surface Areas of Structural Steel............ 293 
126—Weight Per Foot of ‘‘I’’ Beams............ 293° 
127—Weight Per Foot of Channel Irons............ 294 
128—Weight Per Foot of Angle Irons.............. 294 
129—Average Steel Bridge for Estimating.......... 295 
130—Simple Forms of Bridge Units..............4. 295 
131—An Average House to be Painted............ 301 
132—Method of Using the Paint Burner Torch...... 310 
133—Fan and Cone Sprays. «sos <s0c eens 325 
134—The Nozzle Cap of a Spray Gun. "Showing the 
Spreader Air Passages..°. ..)).:.eeeelneenennenn 326 
135—Holding the Gun at the Correct Angle Reerry: 326 
136—Correct and Incorrect Angles for Holding the 
Spray Gun for Best Restilts:. 2... 327 
137—Rough Paint in Folds or Ripples Caused by Hold- 
ing the Spray Gun at the Wrong Angle........ 328 
138—The Distance of the Gun from the Surface and 
the Result. . 2.6.00. ss 00s sieis ies eee 329 
139—Defective Painting Done by an Unclean or 
Damaged Spray Gun Nozzle.y >... opieerennenene 334 
140—Dipping Shingles in Stain. 3.2. puma 345 


141—A better Paint Shop Plan. For efficient opera- 
tion and all year round work..........sses- coll 


HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


With the Brush and Spray Gun 


CHAPTER I 


A SURVEY OF THE MARKET 


Man’s basic need is for shelter. Home buildings are 
essential, and in the United States alone, with its popu- 
lation of over 110,000,000 and 24,000,000 families, the 
fundamental stability of the building industry is well 
established, as it is in Europe and over the entire world. 

In consequence the painting and decorating business 
as an important part of the building industry is in a 
very strong position in its relation to economic wealth. 
The market for the services of the painter and decorator 
is broad and permanent. It can be made even larger 
in proportion to the progress made in selling and gen- 
eral business ability by painters and decorators of 
today. 

It is commonly estimated that out of the more than 
$11,000,000,000 worth of standing physical property 
in America not over twenty-five per cent is protected 
with paint. So, the seventy-five per cent of this huge 
sum represents a potential market of great size. And 
this doesn’t include the normal increase of new build- 
ings which occurs every year. 

The four great markets for the services of painters 
and decorators are these: (1) residences, (2) factory 

1% 


18 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and other industrial buildings, warehouses ete., (3) 
retail stores and other mercantile property, and (4) 
public buildings. 

It was caleulated by the ‘‘Save the Surface Cam- 
paign’’ that the total amount of property in the United 
States needing the protection of paint and varnish, as 
nearly as could be estimated, is over $111,264,783,000. 
This enormous figure was divided as indicated in Plate 1. 





Plate 1.—Standing Property in the United States 


This is a part of the physical property in the United 
States—it does not attempt to include nor is it possible 
to calculate, the value of all the property in this country 
which deserves the constant protection of paint and 
varnish. 

A further analysis graphically illustrated in Plate 2 
was made in this manner: 


A SURVEY OF THE MARKET 19 





Plate 2.—Illustrating the Need for Painting 


These pictures in Plate 2 tell the story of how badly 
paint and varnish is needed and how big is the oppor- 
tunity for all of us. | 

Add the values together and we find that these 
various kinds of ‘‘standing property’’ are worth 
$84,000,000,000. Of this total amount only $21,000,- 
000,000, or twenty-five per cent, is being properly pro- 
tected by paint and varnish. That means there is $4.00 
worth of business for you for every $1.00 worth you are 
now doing. 

Not long ago a survey was made in an average 
American town just to see how much paint and varnish 
and its allied products were needed. The population 
of this town was 6,000. Here is what was actually 
needed by property in that town. 


20 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


35,200 gallons of paint (all kinds) 
6,600 gallons of varnish (all kinds) 
5,000 gallons of enamel and bronze 
$15,800 worth of putty, cleaners and supplies 
55,000 hours of labor 


Doesn’t it begin to look as if there is plenty of room 
for all of us to grow? Of course there is, and will be, 
as long as the country is under painted. 

These figures, of course, present a broad, national 
view of the market. In many localities there are times 
when there are painters without work to do. The prop- 
erty is there needing the protection paint affords but | 
the painters have not developed their selling ability 
to the point where they are able to convince prospec- 
tive customers that it pays to paint. That is a matter 
of education required by both painter and property 
owner and considerable progress is being made in both 
directions. 

Purposes Served by Paint——Without considering the 
use of paint in the industries for merchandise, paint, 
varnish, enamel, stains and other coatings serve four 
vitally important purposes: 

(a) Preservation—Without the protection of paint 
wood decays and is destroyed by the elements just as 
certainly as by fire. Fire, indeed, is simply quick 
oxidation of wood, while decay is slow oxidation. That 
a building may be destroyed by fire is only a possibility ; 
that it will be destroyed by decay is a certainty unless 
protected by paint on its exposed surface. Deteriora- 
tion of most things starts on the surface—paint pre- 
vents the start. 

Fire insurance doesn’t cover this kind of loss, yet the 
annual loss by deterioration of building surfaces by 
decay is several times the loss by fire destruction. 

(b) Decoration is the second most important pur- 
pose served by paint, varnish, enamel, stain, ete. The 
appeal of beauty and pleasing decoration is a much more 


A SURVEY OF THE MARKET 21 


powerful force toward selling the services of painters 
and decorators to most people than are the hard facts 
and logical arguments based upon the need for preserv- 
ing property from decay. 

(c) Sanitary qualities of paint and other decorative 
coatings are convincing facts. Not only does painting 
have its own antiseptic value, but the cleaning which 
precedes painting also is a valuable factor. 

(d) Better lighting is an important purpose served 
by using light colored paints and other coatings. Nat- 
ural light is greatly increased thereby and also greater 
efficiency of artificial lighting is noted from the use of 
paint. 


CHAPTER II 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 
DESCRIPTION, USES AND CARE 


Men who buy and work with these tools are not 
especially interested in their history, nor yet in the 
considerable detail of their manufacture. Yet there 
are certain detailed facts about brush materials and con- 
struction which contribute to a better understanding 
of the use and care of brushes. We will, therefore, 
first touch upon the outstanding facts concerning brush 
materials and construction. 

Bristles for’ Brushes—The most important part of 
a brush is the bristle which goes into its make-up. So 
far no material which is as good as hog bristle has been 
discovered or manufactured. <A close examination of 
bristles shows that they are composed of a horny sub- 
stance of an elastic nature possessing excellent wearing 
qualities. Bristles in former years came in greatest 
quantity from China and in best quality from Russia. 
Germany and France also supphed quite a large volume 
of bristle. 

Originally Russian hog bristles were used exclusively 
in all of the large paint and calecimine brushes as well 
as in stippling brushes. The best bristles have come 
from animals reared in cold climates. The more nearly 
the animals approach the wild state the better the 
quality of bristles produced. The bristles of the 
Russian hogs, as a rule, are longer, thicker and have 
larger flag ends. Furthermore, the flag ends continue 
to form by splitting the bristle shank as the bristle wears 

22 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 23 


off. This is not true, to the same extent at least, of 
bristles coming from other countries. 

A close study of hog bristle with a microscope shows 
that in reality the bristle is a hollow tube which tapers 
from a larger diameter at the root to a smaller diameter 
at the tip where it branches out into the flag ends. This 
flag end of each bristle is like a little brush in itself 
and that is responsible for the ability of a paint brush 
to pick up and carry a large amount of paint. See 
Plate 3. 


Hog Bristle 


Horse Hair 
Plate 3.—Hog Bristles and Horse Hair 


French bristles in the fine, white, soft grades have 
for many years been used for fine varnish and finish- 
ing brushes. In later years, however, Chinese bristle 
has been used and has given the best of results both 
as to working qualities and durability. Some believe 
the wearing quality of Chinese bristle is superior to 
French bristle as the brushes do not seem to get stubby 
so quickly. 

The great bulk of bristle used in recent years is 
black and comes from China. Oval varnish brushes 
are made of practically all Chinese bristle and many 
believe that there has never been better stock for the 
uses to which this style of brush is put. 

Chinese bristles make brushes which can be sold for 
a lower price than Russian bristle, although they do not 
wear as long. The long, tough Russian bristle resists 


24 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


wear and abrasion successfully, but their greater cost 
would seem to offset this advantage. 

Russian bristle ranges in length from 34% to 7 inches; 
French bristle ranges in length from 2 to 4% inches; 
Chinese bristle ranges in length from 2% to 7 inches. 

As to the color of bristle there is practically no pref- 
erence. Color has little bearing, so it should not matter 
whether your brush is white, gray, yellow or black 
or mixed colors. The qualities of bristles which count 
in making of first class brushes are length, elasticity, 
solidity and uniformity. The Chinese bristle is black 
while the French bristle is white. Russian bristles 
are white, yellow or gray. Years ago gray bristle 
did not receive the care and attention in handling that 
white did. All brush makers now thoroughly sort, wash 
and give gray bristle a slight bleaching to insure clean- 
liness. 

There are substitutes for hog bristle in the brush 
industry just as there are substitutes for the best raw 
materials in other industries. Manufacturers are led 
to a use of substitutes to some extent because some 
people buy on the basis of low price and because there 
is keen competition in the manufacture and sale of 
brushes. The principal substitute for hog bristle is 
horse hair taken from the manes and tails of horses. 
A great deal of horse hair comes from the state of 
Texas. The distinguishing feature between horse hair 
and hog bristles is that the horse hair does not contain 
the elasticity and life that we find in bristle. Horse 
hair does not have the flag or split end like the bristle. 

Horse hair does not retain its stiff character when 
immersed in oil and, furthermore, not having the flag 
end it does not pick up and hold paint like hog bristle. 
It, nevertheless, has a place in good brushes when used 
by expert manufacturers who know its limitations. 

Another material used in cheap brushes, as a substi- 
tute for hog bristle, or for mixture with bristle is known 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 25 


as tampico. It is a grass fibre which grows in South 
America and Mexico. This fibre does not compare at 
all favorably in wearing quality with hog bristle. <A 
brush made largely of tampico, which is a coarse fibre, 
will do rough work and show brush marks. Tampico 
is useful principally for whitewash brushes, dusters, 
floor brushes, etc. 

Artists’ brushes and those made for sign and show 
card writing are made from hog bristle, from black or 
red sable and from ox hair. 

Materials other than high class hog bristles serve 
useful purposes in some brushes. For painting metal 
surfaces brushes may be better for having a proper 
percentage of horse hair in their make-up. It is true 
that horse hair makes brushes less elastic, but since 
the paint doesn’t have to be worked into the surface 
as into the pores of the wood, at least not to the same 
extent, there is no objection to a certain amount of 
horse hair. In fact, it is an advantage, because it 
resists wear by abrasion better than hog bristle does. 
The life of the brush is thus increased. 

Brush Construction.—Brush making today is in the 
hands of manufacturers who, fo. the most part, have 
spent a great many years in developing this art to its 
present state of scientific efficiency. You may depend 
upon it that the reputable manufacturers of standard 
advertised brands have developed brush design and 
construction to gain the utmost of desirable working 
qualities and durability from their tools. 

A properly designed brush contains bristles of several 
lengths. Note illustration Plate 4. If the bristles were 
all of one length the brush would be ‘‘toppy’’—it would 
flare out at the bristle ends. Many a brush is bought, 
because it looks full when, as a matter of fact, it is 
only a ‘‘toppy’’ one and may, in fact, contain too much 
horse hair. As soon as the flag ends of the bristle wear 
off the brush will leak, splatter and be so floppy as 


26 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


to be unmanageable. A brush of good construction with 
several layers of bristles of different length retains 
its good working qualities for a long time. When the 
flag ends of the first layer of bristles wear out the 
flag ends of the second layer come into use, then the 


: : 1 | | if 
cn 


ny 


Ail 
i 


Hd) 
t 





B Cc 


Plate 4.—(A) Showing the Distribution of Bristles 
(B) How a Toppy Brush Flares Out 
(C) Showing the Shape of Good Brushes 


third layer, the fourth and so on. And all through the 
life of such a brush it will carry more material and 
lay off a smoother surface than a toppy brush or one 
having too much horse hair in it. 

The use of bristles of several lengths not only has 
the above practical advantages, but it enables manu- 
facturers to use short bristles as well as long ones. 
That decreases the price of good brushes. 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 27 


The next important point for mention is the manner 
in which the bristles are secured, or bound together 
and to the handle. In past years we have used several 
methods for this purpose. There were cement-set and 
glue-set brushes. More recently we have the bristles 
vuleanized in rubber, we have bristles set in inert chem- 
ical cement and we have them compressed with metal 
ferrules and held in place by force. 

There are various ways of mechanically setting the 
pristles within metal ferrules which are compressed by 
machinery into a permanent fastening of bristle ends. 
In some types the bristles are placed within the metal 
ferrules and swedged or forced into a permanent hold 
with plugs or wedges. 

With most of the brushes on the market today it 
is no longer necessary to caution against the use of 
elue-set brushes in water, or of cement-set brushes in 
alcohol, or shellac. The modern brush factories use 
cements which are chemically inert and are not affected 
by oil, turpentine, alcohol, water or other solvent liquids 
in which they are commonly used. 

There are other materials which enter into brush 
manufacture. (Note Plate 5 for the principal parts 
of a brush). Handles, ferrules, nails, paint, varnish, 
paper boxes, labels, rubber, shellac, glue, rosin and 
pitch, depending upon the kind of a brush and the 
purpose for which it is made. 


WHAT MAKES A GOOD BRUSH? 


What are the differences between good and poor 
brushes? One may go into a painter’s supply store and 
see 414-inch flat wall brushes which sell for about two 
dollars and the same size and type of brushes which 
sell for six dollars. Why the difference in price? 

The higher priced brushes are made carefully and 
with the utmost of skill possessed by responsible, able 
manufacturers. They are made to possess the finest 


28 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


working qualities and greatest durability. From that 
standard on down to medium good, fairly good, to cheap ~ 
grades, the brushes are made as good as they can be 
made to sell for the prices which mechanics are willing 
to pay. It’s the same old law of compensation working 


Root Ends of hat Heeb 
Ferrule mn ep 






Flag n isles 


Plate 5.—The Principal Parts of a Brush 


out here as it works out all through life; you get what 
you pay for. When you pay a lower price than is neces- 
sary to buy a brush with the utmost value in working 
qualities and durability, you get brushes of less value in 
proportion to the price paid. 

A comparison of the best brush listed in a painter’s 
supply catalog with the cheapest brush listed in the 
same catalog at the same time should be of interest. 
Take two 4-inch flat wall brushes. 

The best brush listed in this size has black Chinese 
bristles 484 inches long. They are clean, straight as 
an arrow, bright and very springy. The design of the 
brush is excellent, well balanced, feels right and has a 
trim, handsome appearance. Russian gray or white 
bristle is not used in and is not needed for this type of 
brush. Few except calcimine and stippling brushes are 
made of Russian bristles, and the cost of these is so 
high as to give one pause. 

The cheapest 4-inch flat wall brush listed in this same 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 29 


eatalog has black Chinese bristles only 35 inches long 
and of a quality which is noticeably poorer, even to one 
not expert in bristle judgement. And while even this 
cheap brush, which sells for about one-fourth the price 
of the best brush listed, has a nice appearance, there are 
vast differences in working qualities, by which is meant 
that the best brush holds more material, doesn’t leak 
and spatter as the cheaper one is apt to, cuts a clean, 
sharp edge along casings and trim work generally, is 
more springy and elastic and lays off a smoother coat- 
ing of more uniform thickness than the cheaper brush. 
And, obviously, the more select, stronger bristles 43/, 
inches long in the best brush will make that brush last 
longer in service than the poorer quality bristles 358 
inches long. In the better brush you have bristles 1144 
inches longer. 

There are necessarily other differences in quality of 
materials, in construction and workmanship between 
high class brushes and those made to fit a low price. 

Cheaper brushes are made of bristles left over after 
the best grade and several next best grades have been 
selected for length, size, solidity, elasticity, flag ends, 
ete. Then the best bristles are given much attention to 
take the natural curl out of them permanently, to clean, 
dry, sort and assemble them into various lengths needed 
for each type of brush. In cheaper brushes the poorer 
bristles are apt to be used almost raw with only enough 
treatment to take out the curl temporarily. When the 
brush is used in liquids a while the bristles may go back 
to their natural curl;—a crooked, shapeless, twisted 
brush results, a tool which cannot be managed on first 
class work. 

Cheaper brushes may contain too large a percentage 
of horse hair or even tampico instead of having hog 
bristles predominant. They are soft and floppy. You 
ean’t do good work with them. 

In the matter of settings, good brushes may be set in 


30 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


cement which is chemically inert and not affected by 
such solvents as alcohol and can be used to spread any 
of the materials commonly used in painting and deco- 
rating. Cheap brushes may have bristles set in poor 
cement or shellac, glue, pitch or rosin which will not 
hold them in place for a reasonable length of service; 
they will continually shed bristle. 

Good brushes may have bristles set in metal ferrules 
so tightly compressed or wedged in place as to perma- 
nently prevent any shedding of bristles. Yet cheaper 
brushes may have nice appearing metal ferrules of im- 
proper design or which, because of poor workmanship, 
fail to hold the bristles permanently in place. 

Bristles set in rubber would seem to solve all diffi- 
culties from shedding, yet that is not always true. 
Many high class brushes are set in rubber. If, however, 
the bristles are allowed to get too hot during the vul- 
canizing process they become brittle and break off,— 
the brush sheds bristle the same as any cheap brush. 
The rubber settings of many high grade brushes are 
now made with the rubber in solution and little heat. 
Except for the occasional carelessness of a workman 
rubber settings prove very satisfactory in service. 

The final factor to consider is the matter of brush 
design. It is possible to make brushes of excellent ma- 
terials and still be so faulty in design as to leak, spatter, 
wear into improper shape quickly and fail to do good 
work. Long experience and study have equipped most 
brush manufacturers with a knowledge of correct shapes 
and sizes necessary to produce successful brushes for 
each type of work. 

How To Care For Brushes.—As important as it is to 
have and use high class brushes for first class work, it 
is equally important to learn and practise the proper 
care of them. Obviously, it is wasteful and expensive 
to neglect through indifference or ignorance the care of 
any brushes and especially good brushes. When to 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 31 


elean brushes and how you do it are of considerable im- 
portance. 

The time to clean brushes is immediately after using 
them, or within an hour or so of that time. If a brush 
is to be used again next day in the same paint it is best 
to put it into a pot of linseed oil over night. The oil 
should cover the bristles and come up on the ferrule an 
inch at least. The bristles should not touch the bottom 
of the pot. A hole should be drilled in the handle of 
every brush so that it may be suspended from a nail or 
wire hook to take the weight off the bristles. When the 
bristles touch the bottom of the pot or tub in which 
they are kept in an oil bath, they bend all out of shape. 
You will then have a crooked brush which cannot do 
good work; it will not cut a clean, sharp edge. 

When it is not possible to suspend a brush in an oil 
bath to prevent the paint in it from getting hard, two 
other means are at hand. Wipe the paint out of the 
brush as much as possible on a board or with rags, then 
wash out the balance of the paint—all of it—in a pail 
of benzine, gasoline or kerosene. Lay the brush away 
flat on its side with all bristles straight to dry. 

Brushes used in shellac and shellac substitutes may be 
suspended by a wire or holder in the pot of shellac, but 
it is much better to wash them out clean in alcohol as 
soon as you have completed the job, and every night. 
These materials dry so quickly that to fail to wash out 
the brushes soon after using them means a ruined brush, 
or at least a ‘‘seedy,’’ ‘‘lousy’’ brush. The shellac be- 
comes dry up in the root ends of the bristles, and while 
you can remove most of it with alcohol, little specks will 
ayways remain, making the brush unfit for any except 
rough work. See Plate 6. 

Brushes used in varnish or enamel may be suspended 
in a bath of linseed oil or varnish over night or from 
job to job. Varnish brushes kept in an oil bath should 
be wiped free from oil before using in varnish again. 


32 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


If this is not done the only other safe procedure is to 
wash them out clean with turpentine, lay them out flat 
with bristles straight to dry. Benzine or gasoline will 
clean varnish brushes only fairly well. They do not 
cut some varnishes at all. Turpentine is better. 

Brushes used in aluminum or other bronze paints 
should be washed out clean immediately after using. 
Benzine, gasoline or alcohol should be used for wash- 
ing. 

Keeping Brushes for Long Periods.—In the shop the 
best way to keep brushes in first class condition is to 





Plate 6.—What Happens to a Brush not Cleaned Soon Enough 

or Improperly. The Paint, Varnish or Shellac Brush 

Becomes Hard up Next to the Metal Ferrule Binding 
Suspend them in a bath of raw linseed oil. If a little 
turpentine is added and a little more oil from time to 
time the oil will not become fatty or rancid. The oil 
should be changed every few weeks. Varnish brushes 
may be kept in the oil bath, too, or in a bath of spar 
varnish. 

Plate 7 illustrates good brush keepers. One metal 
lined with galvanized iron or zine, the other a common 
wash tub or half of an oil barrel. The oil or varnish 
level should be kept high enough in the tub or trough 
completely to cover the bristles and about one inch of 
the metal ferrule or strap of the brushes. Otherwise 
the oil will dry a bit about the bristles where they enter 
the ferrule and a ‘‘seedy,’’ ‘‘lousy’’ brush will result. 

Perhaps the most important point about a brush 
keeper is that it must be so arranged as to keep the 
bristles at least two or three inches above the bottom of 
the tub or tank. Under no circumstances should the 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 33 


brushes be stood on the bristle ends in the bath. Hog 
bristles are by nature curly or crooked. It takes long 
and expensive processes in the brush factories to make 
the bristles straight. A day or two will ruin the shape 
of the best of brushes when they are stood on bristle 
ends. Then the brush will not cut clean, sharp edges. 
It will be so out of shape as to be difficult to manage, 
and will not do good work ;—it may leak and spatter 
excessively. 


Se etal 
4 Oil Level jiisan ‘ 
: aa 


3 





: Galvanized Jror 
4 








Plate 7.—Types of Brush Keepers in Use 


The oil ig a paint solvent. The paint left in brushes 
when placed in the bath gradually drops out of the 
bristles and settles in the bottom of the tank. This is 
another reason for keeping the bristles off the bottom 
of the tank. The tank must be cleaned occasionally 
to remove this paint accumulation. If the tank is con- 
structed with a false bottom or loose pan, the cleaning 
ean be done quickly and without removing the oil from 
the brush keeper tank. 












































SS 











34. HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Paint and varnish should be wiped and roughly 
washed out of brushes before hanging them in the 
oil bath. That keeps the oil clean longer. 

Brushes used in aluminum or other bronze paints 
should not be suspended in an oil bath with paint and 
varnish brushes. It is quite impossible to wash bronzes 
out of brushes until washed and used several times. 
Some of the bronze can be shaken out when the brush 
is dry. If a bronze brush is put in the oil bath the small 
particles of bronze work their way into nearby brushes, 
causing rough paint and varnish coats later. 

Water is the one liquid in which paint and varnish 
brushes should never be placed. You can find many 
painters and decorators who have the bad habit of keep- 
ing brushes over night and in the shop in a water bath, 
but it is a vicious habit just the same, and it ruins thou- 
sands of brushes for good work. An examination of hog 
bristles with a microscope shows one that each bristle is 
hollow like a rubber hose. When a brush is put into a 
water bath each bristle fills with water. The next time 
you put the brush into paint or varnish the holes in the 
bristle ends are sealed and the water remains indefi- 
nitely. Then you have a soft, flabby brush. « The spring 
and life is gone out of the bristles and sometimes 
water will swell the wood handles of a brush enough to 
break the metal ferrule. Then the brush goes to pieces 
shortly. Also water is not a paint solvent. It allows 
the paint to dry hard in little specks up in the heel of 
the brush or roots of the bristles ;—a ‘‘seedy,’’ “‘lousy’’ 
brush results. The little specks drop out as you brush on 
the paint, varnish, enamel, etc., and a rough and dirty 
surface results. So keep your brushes out of water. It 
will pay in the longer life and better work of your tools, 

Brushes which are not to be used for several weeks 
or months should be washed thoroughly in turpentine, 
benzine, or alcohol in the case of shellac tools. Be very 
certain all material is washed out of the bristles at the 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 35 


heel—up next to the ferrule. Wrap each brush in paper 
held in place with string or a rubber band. 

Then lay the brushes flat on a shelf with all bristles 
straight. Put some moth balls about the room. Moths 
lay eggs in bristles. Some painters make a thick lather 
of linseed oil soap and water and work this into the 
bristles and over the ferrule to keep them in good con- 
dition over winter. 

The room where brushes are stored should be cool 
and even a little damp. Never store brushes on top 
shelves in a steam heated room. 

Reclaiming Hard Brushes——When a brush has been 
neglected to the extent of allowing the bristles to become 
cemented together with hard dry paint it is seldom pos- 
sible to put the brush into first class condition to do 
good work. It can, however, be reclaimed for use on 
priming coats, roof painting and other rough work. 
It is easy to spend more time trying to reclaim a brush 
than it is worth. 

There are on the market several prepared solvent 
materials which clean and soften hard brushes simply 
by soaking. ae 

When there are several brushes to be reclaimed you 
can accomplish the work by soaking them in what is 
ealled Downie’s formula :— 

Submerge the entire brush in a metal tank filled 
with a solution made by thoroughly mixing :— 


1 gal. denatured alcohol 
1 gal. water white benzol 188 proof 
1 gill muriatic acid 


If a small quantity is to be mixed keep to the same 
proportions. Soak the brushes in this solution for 24 
hours. Then remove each brush and scrape out the 
paint, using a putty knife or steel comb. Wash free 
from grit and small particles of paint by submerging 
the brush in a pot of benzine, gasoline or turpentine 






































36 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and working the liquid through the bristles with your 
fingers. By this method all old and neglected brushes 
may be redeemed and they will be found useful for 
some purpose. 

After cleaning the brushes in this manner they may 
be soaked with kerosene and laid flat on a shelf where 
they will remain soft. If the cleaning has been thor- 
oughly accomplished the brushes may be stored and 
allowed to dry ;—the bristles will remain soft. 

Paint and varnish removers are successfully used for 
reclaiming hard brushes but as a rule they work more 
slowly than the above solution. i 

The Use of Brushes.——The first consideration about 


Ny 





Plate 8.—Working the Brush into the Paint 
using a new brush is to see that it is clean. Of course, 
it looks clean and the manufacturers have made an 
earnest effort to have the brush reach you in a clean 
condition. They have shaken out most of the loose 
bristles by machinery designed for that purpose, but 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 37 


you may find a little dust and a few loose bristles in 
a brush. Hold the brush in one hand, carefully work 
your fingers through the bristles and shake the brush 
gently to jar out everything. Do not pound the ferrule 
of the brush on a board, as that will damage the handle 


and setting. Now wash the brush out in benzine and 
shake it dry. 











Plate 9.—(A) ie Way to Hold a Brush for Large Flat Sur- 
faces. Rather an awkward hold for some 
surfaces, but a good chance to rest the hand. 

(B) The Common and Correct Holding of a Brush. 


When a new brush has been made clean, carefully 
work the paint into it by dipping the bristles into the 
paint only about an inch or two. Then wipe the paint 
off on the mixing paddle. Repeat this two or three 
times, as noted in Plate 8. 

Holding the Brush.—The correct method of holding a 
brush is the natural method. Take an easy grip, being 
careful not to allow the fingers to extend too far down 
on the metal ferrule or the leather strap on stucco 





















































38 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


brushes. See Plate 9. This is objectionable, not alone 
because the fingers become smeared with paint, but 
because fingers carried low on the ferrule exert uneven 
pressure on the center bristles. The brush is then worn 
into a fish tail shape as noted in Plate 10. Plate 9 also 
indicates another way to hold a brush to rest the 
muscles. There is no objection to holding this way for 
brief periods, but it is awkward except for large flat 





Plate 10.—A Brush Worn into a Fish Tail Shape. From exert- 
ing too much pressure in the center 

surfaces; also it tends to make one use the brush at too 

great an angle, thus wearing the side bristles making 

a wedge shape brush, as per Plate 12. 

An oval or round paint or varnish brush is held the 
same as a flat brush, but one must be very careful to 
avoid letting such a brush twist around in the hand at 
work. If that is permitted the bristles will wear all 
around the outer edge and to a point in the center 
as indicated by Plate 11. The brush is then useless — 
for any except rough work; you cannot cut a clean edge 
with it. Many such brushes are chiseled on two sides 
by the manufacturers. They are, therefore, more 
quickly broken in to do nice finishing coats. 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 39 


Spreading Paint.—Every paint brush has a certain 
limited capacity to carry a load of paint from the pot 
to a surface. The capacity depends upon the con- 
struction of the brush, upon the number and arrange- 
ment of the flag ends of hog bristles in layers,—some 
long and some short, as seen in Plate 4. There is, 





Plate 11.—(A) An Oval or Round Brush. Note bristles chiseled 
on two sides 
(B) When the brush is allowed to turn around in the 
hand while working it is worn into a point 
and is then useless 


therefore, no advantage and considerable disadvantage 
in dipping one’s brush too deeply into paint. To dip 






























































40 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


the brush into the material an inch or two, depending 
upon the size of the brush, is sufficient. When you 
overload brushes, the best of them will leak and spatter 
excessively. A good brush properly used will not leak 
and spatter. 

It is the bristle ends, not the sides, which carry and 
smooth up the paint spread on a surface. Obviously, 
then, the more nearly a brush can be used at right 
angle to the surface the better. Of course, as you 





Plate 12 mae and (C) The brush used at too great an angle 
Keep the brush working as nearly at right angle 
ie the surface as is practical, not inclined too 
uch as in A and C 
(D) enowine what happens to a brush used ha- 
bitually at too great an angle 


swing a brush from side to side it naturally will tilt 
first one way then the other, but don’t let the angle 
become too acute, nor to assume a position which makes 
you lay off the paint with the side of the bristles, and 
wear the brush to a wedge shape by destroying the 
side bristles. Plate 12 is a diagram showing this point. 

When learning to use a brush most effectively a me- 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 4a} 


chanie should cultivate a free and easy swing, letting 
the wrist do most of the work. Don’t ‘‘ride’’ the brush, 
but take an easy grip and exert an even pressure at 
all times to lay on a coat of paint of uniform thickness. 

Spread the paint as far as one brushful covers well, 
brushing with, not across, the grain of the wood; then 
cross-brush the paint and lay it off by brushing again 
with the grain. Pick up the sags, runs, fat edges and 
run-overs on edges and corners; then let the painted 
area alone. Note that the up stroke on a side wall 
will lay on more paint than the down stroke, also that 
you can make a lighter finishing or laying-off stroke 
coming up than you can going down. 

The bristles of a brush which is properly used will 
wear down evenly and the brush will retain a good 
Shape for cutting sharp clean edges until the bristles 
become very short. As a matter of fact, the appearance 
and shape of a brush, after it has been in service for 
some time, is a good indication of the intelligence of 
the painter who used it. But what is most important 
is that brushes held and used in the correct way do 
the best work by spreading the material evenly and 
smoothly. 

One of the bad habits developed by some mechanics 
is that of poking with the brush. That is very hard 
service and it soon bends the bristles so much out of 
shape that the tool will no longer cut sharp edges or do 
smooth and clean painting. See Plate 13. Poking turns 
the flag ends of the bristles and destroys the trim shape 
of the brush. On very rough surfaces like brick, con- 
erete, rough plaster, ornamental iron work, wood lattice 
and grills where it is absolutely necessary to do some 
poking with the brush it is a good plan to use old 
brushes. 

Another habit which ought to be avoided is that of 
using a large 4 or 41-inch flat wall brush to trim 
narrow mouldings and edges. When a large brush is 


° 



























































42 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


used endwise instead of flatwise the corners of the brush 





Plate 13...A brush used in a poking manner soon gets out of 

shape. The bristles get crooked and the flag ends 

turned out of shape 

are soon worn off as noted in Plate 14. The tool will 
not then enable you to paint sharp, clean edges. It 
takes about a minute to change to a flat or oval sash 
tool for painting such edges and there really is no 
excuse for damaging an expensive good brush in such 


a Manner. 





Plate 14.—A big brush which was improperly used endwise to 
do the work of a small brush on narrow mouldings 


The use of a paint brush seems so obvious that it 
ought not to require any explanation, and yet many 
brushes are badly used. More are destroyed by im- 
proper use and care than are worn out in service. That 
makes a very considerable expense in the average paint 
shop for brushes every year. There is additional ex- 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 43 


pense, also, when a mechanic tries to lay-off a nice 
finish with a poor brush, because more time is consumed 
in the attempt than if a first class, well shaped brush 
were at hand. To get the most out of any brush re- 
quires quite as much study and practice as the use of 
any mechanic’s tool. Those who are young in experi- 
ence, particularly, should practise laying the bristles 
of the brush on the surface in such a way as to draw 
them out to.a sharp, clean edge, since that is the only 
way to spread paint in a clean and even manner along- 
side of mouldings, mT etc. Note Plate 15. 


\\ MN ih 
hy} U it Mit f 
\\t ee eo 








aii ling N 
; | 











Plate 15 a the een: on i ate to draw the bristles 
t to a sharp edge. Then a clean, straight line 
an be painted on sash, panels and trim 

When a brush leaks while being used on ceilings or 
other overhead work, it is usually because the painter 
has overloaded it. Some brushes which are made with 
all or most of the bristles of the same length are 
‘‘toppy.’’ These look thick and full and to one without 
experience would seem to be excellent brushes. They do 
not carry as much paint as brushes made with bristles 
of various lengths. A toppy brush is apt to leak. 































































































a4 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


A brush which has been misused by allowing it to stand 
on the bristle ends in a pot of water or other liquid 
is likely to have its bristles so bent out of shape as to 
cause leaking and spattering. 

Bridling Brushes—There apparently is not as much 
need for bridling brushes today as formerly, at least 
the practice is not carried on to the same extent. The 
mechanics of the older school considered the ability of 
one to bridle a brush as a real test of his training as 
a painter just as they considered his ability to mix 
paints and colors to be such a test. 

The purpose served by bridling is that of shortening 
the bristles of a new brush somewhat, before they are 
shortened naturally by wear, so that the brush will be 
stiffened and not spatter paint around. A brush which 
had been bridled was also thought to spread the paint 
more smoothly. A brush with extra long bristles 
which are a bit soft and too flexible, undoubtedly is 
benefited by bridling for a while. 

The most common method of putting a bridle on a 
brush was to wind the brush with a rough, soft twine 
made of cotton, hemp or jute. The smooth, hard twine 
is not suitable because it slips off too easily. A fairly 
large twine was used on large brushes while a twine of 
smaller diameter was used on sash tools. The winding 
of the twine is indicated by Plate 16. 


DESCRIPTION OF PAINTERS’ BRUSHES 


As to style and size of brushes, each painter has his 
own preferences. Some prefer the flat, metal-bound 
brushes while others are strong in their preference for 
leather-bound, flat stucco brushes. Some still prefer 
oval and round brushes for large surfaces. What 
brush is used most extensively depends somewhat, also, 
upon what section of the country you happen to be 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 45 


: 3) 
, | 


coe 4 


(IN 


At 
ZR" 


ae 





Plate 16.—(A) The method used to bridle brushes by binding 
with twine 
(B) The metal bridle put on by brush manufac- 
turers; in common use now 
located in. In the following descriptions we shall sim- 
ply describe each brush and mention the purposes for 
which it is commonly used by the average mechanie. 
Every painter should pay particular attention, how- 
ever, to the various sizes of brushes needed for differ- 
ent classes of work. It is very easy to waste considerable 
time painting a large surface with a 3-inch brush when 
a 4 or 414 inch brush should be used. 
Flat Wall Brush, Plate 17—\In this illustration is 
shown a flat wall brush, with a beaver-tail handle, made 
of black Chinese bristle. This is a fairly stocky brush 


SSS Ee 


== 


<2 


ara 











nee ESE ES 





















































46 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


which is made in half-inch sizes from 3 to 5 inches 
wide. The bristles vary in length from 31% to 5 inches, 
depending upon the size of the brush. A 4-inch flat 

wall brush having bristles 414 to 484 inches long is an 





Plate 17.—A Flat Wall Brush 


excellent tool. Such a brush is used for the applica- 
tion of all kinds of paint on interior and exterior wall 
surfaces. It is not used for varnish coatings. 

Flat Wall Stucco Brush, Plate 18.—In some sections 
of the country leather-bound stucco brushes are used 
in preference to metal-bound flat wall brushes for the 
application of all kinds of paints, sizes and, in fact, 
most materials except varnish. These brushes are made, 
as a rule, from black Chinese bristle and with a rather 
thin pointed handle instead of a thick beaver tail 
handle. It is commonly thought that the thin handle 
is a bit more comfortable to use. The leather-bound 
stueco brush should contain more bristle stock than 
metal-bound brushes and it is made in sizes from 3 to 
5 inches wide. Probably the best bristle length for a 
4-inch brush is about 484 inches. The bristle should 
extend all the way through the leather binding in the 
best brushes. The cheaper grades of brushes of this 
type are plugged in the center of the handle at the root 
of the bristle. They are sometimes called solid-center 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 47 





Plate 18.—Flat Wall Stucco Brush 


brushes and are not considered by some to be as good 
as brushes made without the plug. 
Flat Wall Brush, Metal-Bound, Plate 19.—Some 








Plate 19.—Flat Wall Brush with Metal Wedged Binding 


manufacturers are making a brush today which is de- 
signed to possess all of the virtues of the flat, metal 
ferrule type and the leather-bound stucco brush. In 
these brushes the bristles are firmly compressed and 
mechanically wedged into place to assure a firm setting, 
or they are set in cement which is inert and not soluble 
in any of the liquids commonly used by the painter. 
These brushes are made in the same widths—from 3 to 
41% inches, and the 4-inch brush of the best quality is 
made of bristles 434 inches long. 




































































48 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Oval Varnish and Paint Brush, Plate 20.—In former 
years the round and oval paint brush was much pre- 
ferred for coating in large exterior wall areas. Today 
the flat wall brush is used more for large surfaces and 





Plate 20.—Oval Varnish or Paint Brush 


the oval brush is used’for varnish and painting struc- 
tural steel principally. The oval varnish brush today 
is much superior to the old style round or pound brush. 
It is, as a rule, made with the bristles chiseled on two 
sides and with that construction it does nice work im- 
mediately. With the old type of round brush it was 
necessary for a painter to patiently break in the brush, 
which consisted largely in using it in one position of 
the hand long enough to wear the bristles on two sides 
to a chiseled shape. With the old round brush, if the 
painter was not careful to prevent the brush from 
twisting around in his hand, the outside bristles on all 
sides were worn to a chiseled edge and then the pointed 
brush was quite useless for cutting clean, sharp edges. 
The oval brush today is made both in solid and open- 
center types. The open-center brush is, as a rule, a 
better tool and has a greater working length of bristle. 
It is easier, also, to keep the open-center brushes clean, 
and they do not require a bridle to keep them in shape. 
The oval brushes are made in several sizes from 1% 
inches to 284 inches. The number 10 brush which is 
234 inches wide is usually made with bristles 484 inches 


4 
BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 49 


long. It is an excellent tool for use on all manner of 
surfaces with either paint or varnish. 
Flat Sash Brush, Plate 21.—These brushes are used 





Plate 21.—Flat Sash Brush 


for trimming window sash, doors and the trim, gener- 
ally, on exterior and interior surfaces. They are quite 
similar to flat varnish brushes but have longer bristles. 
The bristle is the black Chinese product and the brush 
is made up with chiseled sides the same as varnish 
brushes. The flat sash is also thinner than the varnish 
brush. You cannot trace sash and small mouldings 
with a flat brush as thick as the varnish brush. These 
sash tools are made in several sizes. Those commonly 
used are 1 inch, 114-inch and 2 inches wide. These 
sash brushes are made with bristles from 2 to 21 inches 
long for best results. 

Oval Sash Brush, Plate 22.—These brushes are used 
for the same purposes as the flat sash tools described 





Plate 22.—Oval Sash Brush 


above. They are made of black Chinese bristles in sizes 
from Vg inches to 15% inches. The bristle lengths range 
from 134 inches to 234 inches. There is little choice to 
be made as between the flat and oval sash tools,—some 
prefer one and some the other. The flat sash brushes 
carry more material than the round and are to be pre- 



















































































50 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


ferred for mouldings and surfaces which are rather 
easy to reach. The oval brush on the other hand is 
better for window sash and fine mouldings. 

Flat Varnish Brushes, Plate 23.—These tools look 





Plate 23.—Flat Varnish Brush 


very much like flat sash tools, but the bristles, as a rule, 
are not so long. The varnish brush, however, is thicker, 
has more bristles so that it will carry more material. 
These varnish brushes are made in sizes from 1 to 4 
inches. The bristle lengths range from 124 inches on 
the 1 inch wide brush to 3% inches long on the brush 
having 4 inches width. These brushes are made with 
black Chinese bristle for most grades, but the highest 
quality flat varnish brushes are made with gray, white 
or yellow Russian bristle of greater length and more 
elasticity. These finer brushes are triple thick and are 
especially desirable for spreading enamel. Flat varnish 
brushes are made with chiseled sides and the handles may 
be round or blunt, tapered and rather sharp, or the 








Plate 24.—Water Color or Cover Brush 


round beaver tail type. The 114-inch width of flat var- 
nish brushes is popular for interior trim on mouldings 
and small surfaces, while the 3-inch width is mostly 
used for varnishing floors and other large areas. 
Water Color or Cover Brushes, Plate 24.—It 1s very 
difficult to get a brush which works properly with water 


os ——w ee 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 51 
eolor paints. The best brushes of this type are made of 
yellow and gray Russian bristles which are 414 to 41% 
inches long on the brushes which are 3 inches wide. 
These brushes are often made up with yellow bristles on 
the outside and gray bristles in the center. 

Flat Calcimine Brush, Plate 25.—These brushes are 





Plate 25.—Flat Calcimine Brush 


expensive tools and, therefore, deserve exceptional care, 
not only to preserve them, but to keep them in first 
class working condition. The most expensive calcimine 
brushes are made of all gray Russian bristles which are 
extra long and stiff. The less expensive brushes are 
made of medium long black Chinese bristle. These 
brushes are made in widths of 6, 7 and 8 inches. The 
bristle of the 7-inch finest quality brush is usually about 
514 inches, while the bristles of the 8-inch width are 
534 inches long. The medium grade of Chinese bristle 
brushes comes in bristle lengths of 5 inches and 514 
inches for the brushes 7 and 8 inches wide respectively. 
The cheaper brushes have bristles from 314 to 44% 
inches long. All calcimine brushes are made, as a rule, 
with settings which are not injured by use in any of 
the solvent liquids commonly used by painters and deco- 
rators, although they must not be used in hot lime or 
any substance like sal soda which will injure the bristles. 






















































































52 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Dutch Calcimine Brush, Plate 26.—This type of cal- 
cimine brush is preferred by some painters because it 
will carry more material than the common fiat type of 
brush. The best quality in this brush is made from 
Russian bristle of the yellow, white, gray or mixed 





Plate 26.—Dutch Calcimine Brush 


colors. Chinese bristle is not as good for these brushes. 
This brush is made in three sizes with different lengths 
of bristle for each size. The sizes are subject to a little 
variation depending upon the manufacturer who makes 
the brushes;—they may be 23% inches wide by 714 
inches long, or 25g inches wide by 734 inches long, or 
334 inches wide by 734 inches long. The bristle lengths 
vary from 414 to 5 inches and you ean take the manu- 
facturer’s judgment for the proper length of bristle for 
each size brush. 

Whitewash Brush, Plate 27—For factory walls and 
other large interior, or exterior surfaces, a brush is 
sometimes used on a long pole handle for the application 
of cold water paint or whitewash. These brushes are 
usually about 8 or 9 inches wide and with bristles 4 
or 5 inches in length. The better quality brushes are 
made of Russian bristle which is gray, yellow, white or 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 53 


ee ee 


VODIVLOHADOVONDGDDDO DV DODVO DNV VDDDOVO9D NN 


: | | 


Plate 27.—Whitewash Brush 


















































mixed in color. Some of the brushes are made with a 
leather binding, while others have a metal binding. 
Round Duster Brush, Plate 28.—Painters’ dusters 
are made to remove dust accumulations and the refuse 
from sandpapering surfaces to be painted. The better 
grades are made of Russian bristle in gray, white, yel- 
low or mixed colors. The bristles, as a rule, are set in 














Plate 28.—Round Duster Brush 


knots or groups and are securely fastened in the handle, 
sometimes by the rubber, sometimes with cement, or the 
mechanical wedging means. The bristle of all except 
the highest grade is black Chinese and may serve the 
purpose for which this brush is intended quite as well 
as the expensive brush. The bristles of dusters should 
be long. For the round duster 25g inches in diameter 
the bristles should be from 4 to 41% inches long, 































































































54 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Flat Duster Brush, Plate 29.—These brushes are sim- 




















Plate 29.—Flat Duster Brush 


ilar to the round type in all respects except that the 
handle is flat instead of round. Some of these duster 
brushes of both the round and flat types are set in 
cement which should not be put into water, gasoline 
or turpentine. The best types of dusters are made 
with settings which will permit washing the brush in 
any of these liquids. The less expensive duster brushes 
are made of the mixture of Chinese bristle, horse hair 
and tampico fibre. They are practical and serve the 
purpose well. The flat brushes are made 4 inches wide 
with bristles from 37% inches long to 484 inches long. 
Wall Stippling Brush, Plate 30.—These brushes are 


























Plate 30.—_Wall Stippling Brush 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 59 


quite similar to the Dutch calcimine brush, but are with- 
out a handle. They are used only for stippling paint on 
interior walls and ceilings. Because of the fine con- 
struction necessary these brushes are expensive. They 
are used to give a texture to smooth painted plaster 
walls and to remove the brush marks from such painted 
surfaces. The brush is used like a hammer to pound the 
wet paint rather than from side to side to spread or 
smooth the paint like ordinary brushes are used. 

Stippling brushes are made in different sizes. Those 
listed by one manufacturer measure 3 inches wide and 
71% inches long and, also, of larger sizes which are 354 
inches wide and 9 inches long. The length of bristles 
varies from 314 to 4 inches, and as to quality, the 
bristles are usually of the best grade of Russian quality 
mixed as to color. 


Flat Artists’ Brushes, Plate 31.—These brushes are — 














Plate 31.—Flat Artists’ Brush 


not much used by the painter, although occasionally one 
is needed for lining sash bars inside with a different 
color than is used on the rails and sash in general. 
Many types of these brushes are made in sizes from 
1% inch wide to 114 inches. The bristles are usually 
black Chinese stock from 5% of an inch long in the small 
brush to 134 inches in the brush which is 1 inch wide. 
Such brushes are made both flat and round. 

Fresco Angle Liners, Plate 32.—These brushes are 
similar to the above artist brushes, but are made only in 
the flat type from 14 inch wide to 144 inches wide with 































































































56 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Chinese black bristles from 1 inch to 214 inches long. 





Plate 32.—Fresco Angle Liners 


The bristles are cut off at an angle, as indicated by the 
illustration, so as to facilitate drawing straight lines 
with these brushes. 

Flat Roof Painting Brushes, Plate 33.—¥or the paint- 


1006 2OCA0OC0G00C 0G 

















Plate 33.—Flat Roof Painting Brush 


ing of metal and shingle roofs a brush with a long pole 
handle is used. These are very similar to whitewash 
brushes. They are made of Russian bristle and are 
leather-bound in the better grades. The brush is made 
from 7 to 9 inches wide. The 7 inch width with bristles 
about 314 inches long is a convenient size for the aver- 
age work. The brush is used like a sweeping brush and 
enables the painter to work in a standing position. 


a 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS o7 


Round Roof Painting Brush, Plate 34.—This 1s 
another type of brush used for painting galvanized iron, 
tin and shingled roofs, using a long pole handle. These 





Plate 34.—Round Roof Painting Brush 

are less expensive brushes made of black China bristle, 
or mixtures of bristles, horse hair and tampico fibre. 
The bristles are gathered in knots bound with wire and 
securely fastened in a wood block. They are made in 
sizes described 2, 3 and 4 knot width. The bristles are 
about 314 Mens long. 

Floor Waxing Brushes, Plate 35.—Several types of 





Plate 35.—Floor Waxing Brush 



















































































58 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


weighted brushes are made for polishing waxed floors. 
The bristles are very short—in the neighborhood of 1 
inch long, and are made of mixed bristle or tampico 
fibre. The bristles are gathered in knots and fastened 
with wire into a solid block or bound with various set- 
tings preferred by different manufacturers. These 
brushes are weighted with a cast iron block, and the 
brush weighs from 14 or 15 lbs. to 23, 25 or 40 lbs. 
Brick Liners, Plate 36.—Painters are often called 





iia, 


Plate 36.—Brick Liner Brush 


upon to paint common brick and to line the mortar 
joints with black or other color. This is a rather tedious 
job unless a special lining brush is at hand to do the 
marking. These brushes are made with short bristles 
and they come in widths of 2 inches, 214 inches or 3 
inches. 

Stencil Brushes, Plate 37.—For use in transferring 


























Plate 37.—Stencil Brush 





BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 59 


paper or metal stencils on interior decorating jobs and 
for letter or numeral stencils on exterior work, special 
short bristle brushes are most convenient. These 
brushes are round, made of short bristles and bound 
with metal, as a rule. They are made in several sizes 
Ye of an inch in diameter to 134 inches. Both black 
and gray bristles are used. 

Fresco Stencil Brushes, Plate 38.—This is a rather 
long-handled round brush used for transferring stencils 
in water colors or distemper. It is made with longer 


——— 


———— 





Plate 38.—Fresco Stencil Brush 


bristles than the ordinary stencil brush. The common 
size is 114 inches in diameter with the bristles 214 inches 
long. 

Soft Flowing Brushes, Plate 39.—This brush is used 





Plate 39.—Soft Flowing Brush 


largely for flowing fine enamel coats. It is made of ox 
hair set in cement, as a rule, and with a metal binding. 
It comes in widths from 1 to 3 inches usually double 
thick as to bristle stock. 





= Se 































































































60 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Fitch Flowing Brush, Plate 40.—This brush is com- 
monly made of soft, black Chinese bristle, or skunk 
hair, which is called fitch hair. Such brushes are used 
by furniture finishers for putting on flat color coats 





Plate 40.—Fitch Flowing Brush 


and similar finishes which require fine brushing to avoid 
brush marks. 


Badger Flowing Brush, Plate 41.—This brush is sim- 





Plate 41.—Badger Flowing Brush 


ilar to the previous two described above but is made of 
badger hair for a casing and the center of the brush is 
filled with soft French bristle. This is a very elastic 
brush mostly used by automobile painters for flat color 
coats and color varnish, or finishing coats. The house 
painter has little use for these brushes except when he 
turns his hand to a job of finishing on furniture or ex- 
ceptional interior architectural finishing. 


BRUSHES FOR PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 61 


Flat Color Brush, Plate 42.—These are called camel- 
hair brushes but are made of squirrel hair. They are 











Plate 42.—Flat Color Brush 





usually brass bound and set in cement. The sizes vary 
from 1 to 3 inches and they are used chiefly for brush- 
ing on Japan colors thinned with turpentine on furni- 


ture and automobile surfaces. 
Badger Hair Blender, Plate 43.—These brushes are 























Plate 43.—Badger Hair Blender 


used by the painter only when doing a job of graining. 
They are finely constructed brushes of soft badger hair, 
3 to 4 inches long. They are made in widths of 21% to 
414 inches. The bristles are bound in knots and se- 
eurely wired or cement set into the wood handle. This 
brush is used to blend out the grain figure which has 
been drawn in on a piece of graining work. 





62 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Graining Stipplers, Plate 44.—These brushes are used 
also by a painter when doing a job of graining, and 
they are sometimes called walnut stipplers. The bristles 








=a ———————————— 
en t—— = 
. ——_=—— SS 0 —S—S—S—S—S—S=_asaoa— 
See bs 
=a EEG 3 


Plate 44.—Graining Stippler 


are very long and usually light in color. The brushes 
are made in widths of 3, 344 and 4 inches. The brush 
is used to stipple a job of water color graining with dis- 
temper color before the grain figure is drawn in with a 
fitch. 


a 


CHAPTER III 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 


THE application of paint, varnish, enamel, calcimine, 
mill whites and other decorative and protective coatings 
by mechanical means, spray guns, is being done on 
an extensive scale today because it is both practical and 
profitable; furthermore, spray painting is an economic 
factor contributing to the greater conservation of prop- 
erty which must be reckoned with. 

In the light of these facts it is essential that any in- 
struction in house painting methods should include a 
consideration of spray painting. There are a number 
of scientifically designed and constructed spray guns on 
the market today, and while the operation of each one is 
most successful when the instructions of the manufac- 
turer of the particular gun you have are closely fol- 
lowed, there is considerable instruction which is common 
to all. 

The details concerning spray painting methods are 
presented in Chapter XV. This chapter will be de- 
voted to illustrations and descriptions of the various 
mechanical units which are essential to a complete spray 
painting outfit. 

A complete spray gun outfit consists of the following 
units for house painting and similar surfaces: 

A. One or more spray guns supplied with air and 
material from the same compressor and power unit. 

B. Air compressor, or pump. 

C. Automatic governor unloader. 

63 













































































64 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Air storage tank. 

Power unit—gasoline engine or electric motor. 
Paint storage tank. 

Air and material regulating device. 

Agitator for material which doesn’t remain in 
suspension long—bronze and red lead paints, ete. 

I. Air and material hose and connections. 

Electric material heaters, special water and oil sepa- 
rators and air dusters are used for some special kinds 
of work. 

Spray Guns, Plates 45, 46, 47, 48, 49.—The spray gun 
of today is a far superior tool to that of only a few 
years back. The better types are designed by able engi- 
neers and constructed with great mechanical precision. 
Such guns constructed along scientific lines handle with 
ease and certainty all manner of liquids, light and 
medium heavy paste paints. These tools in some plants 
are spraying the new cellulose lacquers which dry so 
quickly that they cannot be applied with a common 
brush. And the other extreme is the spraying of heavy 
enamels, varnishes, asphaltum, japans and even red 
lead paint weighing up to thirty-three pounds to the 
gallon. With this wide range of utility the spraying 
of house paints on interior and exterior surfaces is an 
easy accomplishment for the most improved spray guns. 

Each of many manufacturers makes a different type 
of spray gun, but all are quite similar in a general way. 
Principles and details of construction of many of the 
guns are covered by patents and, of course, as with other 
machinery, some guns are more successful than others. 

Air Compressors, Plate 50.—This machine is simply 
an air pump built for heavy duty. Such compressors 
have been used for a great many years for many pur- 
poses. Ice-making machines, pneumatic riveters, sand- 
blast machines, vacuum cleaners of large type and many 


tease 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 





Plate 45.—Binks No. 105 Airway Paint Gun (top) 
DeVilbiss Type A Spray Gun (bottom) 


65 



































66 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 





yy 


Plate 46.—Matthews Material Gun, Volume F, (top) 
Beach Model A-1 Air Brush (bottom) 


other machine equipments use the same type of 
compressor. The compressor simply sucks in air, com- 
presses it and delivers it to an air storage tank and 
from there to the spray gun through a rubber hose. 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 67. 


Compressors are made in many sizes. Some are air- 
cooled like a motorcycle engine and some are water- 
cooled. The compressors used on house painters’ spray 
equipment are driven by a belt attached to a gasoline 





ee 


i Sa | 
Ce a 








Plate 47.—Wold Air Brush D-l (top) 
Paasche Air Brush Type N&S (bottom) 












































68 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 





Plate 48.—Sprayco Model 7-A Paint Gun (top) 
MacLeod Paint Sprayer (bottom) 


engine or an electric motor. When used in the shop on 
a permanent location instead of as a portable machine, 
the compressor may be driven by a belt from a line 
shaft. 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 69 





uy a 


B 
Plate 49.—(A) Eureka Spray Gun 135 
(B) Simons Paint Spray Brush 

A spray gun used for furniture and automobile paint- 
ing, for decorating interior trim, walls, floors and other 
surfaces of small area doesn’t require so large a com- 
pressor or air storage tank as a gun used for coating 
large surfaces. A compressor and air storage tank must 
be larger when two or more guns are to be operated 
from it at the same time. This is obvious since each 
compressor has a certain capacity determined by the 
size of the cylinder and the speed at which it is run. 

Air compressors are equipped with a hand unloader, 
or valve, which enables you to take the compression off 
of the cylinder while starting the engine or motor. 

The air intakes on the compressors are covered with 
fine wire screen to prevent entrance of dust and other 
foreign substances which might clog the air line or 
spray gun valves. 





















































i 

i 
: 
{ 


70 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


An air compressor is called upon to do heavy work. 
The bearings of the better machines are die-cast bush- 
ings of bearing metals or bronze and are easily replaced 
or scraped and refitted when wear occurs. The ecrank- 
shafts are dropforged steel, accurately machined and 
balanced. Lubrication is the life of this machine. The 
crankcase is oil tight and lubrication is automatic by the 
splash system, like automobile engines, and requires only 
that you keep the case filled with oil up to the overflow 





Plate 50.—Air Storage Tank, Air Cooled Compressor and Auto- 
matic Governor Unloader 

cup level. Then the bearings, piston and cylinder walls 

are lubricated by splash. 

Automatic Governor Unloader, Plate 50.—As a means 
of safety a blow-off or pop valve is provided on com- 
pressors. If neglected, a compressor might be run by 
the engine or motor until a pressure is built up in excess 
of the strength of the pipe line or air storage tank and 
something would blow up, just as a steam boiler would 
blow up if it were not kept within its capacity by the 
blow-off safety valve on it. The automatic governor 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 7 


opens up of its own accord when the pressure reaches 
the safety limit. 

Aw Storage Tanks, Plate 50—A spray gun can be 
operated by air connection direct to the compressor. In 
fact, some of the small spray gun outfits for furniture, 
automobile and interior house trim are so constructed. 
Spray guns used on large surfaces and which are op- 
erated to capacity for many hours at a time, however, 
require an air storage tank with a reserve air supply. 

An air storage tank furnishes an air supply reserve 
and allows a temporary consumption of compressed air 
in excess of the capacity of the compressor. Then when 
you shut off the spray gun for a few minutes to refill the 
paint storage tank or do a bit of cleaning or bristle 
brushing on a window sash, the compressor keeps right 
on running and thus builds up a reserve air supply in 
the air storage tank. 

The air storage tank also prevents pulsations in the 
air line, making a steadier flow of air. Such a tank pro- 
vides a condensing chamber where oil and water in the 
air can be precipitated and drained off. The air com- 
pressors sucking in damp air are bound to squeeze 
out some water by condensation which if it got into 
the material storage tank, hose or spray gun would cause 
a little trouble. Also the compressor using oil as it must 
to lubricate the piston and cylinder walls is apt to dis- 
charge a little oil spray with the air storage tank. So 
water and oil separators are essential in one form or 
another. 

Air storage tanks are made in many sizes, but, of 
course, you can depend upon spray gun manufacturers 
to supply tanks of proper capacity to balance up your 
equipment. That is a simple engineering problem. 

A pressure gauge is attached to the air storage tank 
to indicate the supply of air at hand. 

Power Units, Plate 50.—The air compressor requires 
power supplied by an engine or motor. The portable 















































72 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


spray gun outfits are usually equipped with an electric 
motor or gasoline engine which drives the compressor 
with a belt as a rule. 

For an outfit having the air capacity to supply one 
spray gun a gasoline engine of 114 horsepower is used. 
A 8-horsepower engine is needed to drive the larger 
compressor used for outfits supplying two spray guns 
with air. Some manufacturers supply horizontal en- 
gines and others supply the vertical type. Both water 
and air-cooled engines are used. The better outfits have 
magneto equipment to supply the spark for the engine 
and also speed control of a positive type with the gaso- 
line throttle to assure steady power. 

Electric motors are more convenient to use and all 
manufacturers supply them. The small spray gun out- 

ts for shop and building interior use on furniture, 
walls, wood trim, signs and automobile finishings are 
operated by small motors of 14 or 144 horsepower which 
can be connected to any electric light socket. The larger 
equipment using motors 1144 horsepower for one-gun 
outfits and 3-horsepower for two-gun outfits must be 
connected to power lines rather than to ordinary light 
sockets. This is possible in factory and other large 
buildings, as a rule, and also in residence buildings in 
which electric ranges are used for cooking. For farm 
painting and painting in general with portable spray 
gun equipment the gasoline engine power is most useful. 

Paint Storage Tanks, Plate 51.—The paint or ma- 
terial supply tanks are made in various sizes. The cup 
type which is connected to the spray gun directly will 
usually hold 14 pint, 1 pint or 1 quart of paint or other 
material. The larger portable tanks which may be 
carried up on to a scaffold or roof or allowed to remain 
on the ground are made to hold 1, 4, 7, 8, 14, 20, 30 and 
50 gallons of paint. All manufacturers do not make all 
sizes, but each one offers ample choice of sizes for all 
practical needs. 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 73 


Most paint storage tanks are made of seamless pressed 
steel with welded bottoms, but some have riveted seams. 
The interiors are smooth and bright and the openings 
at the top are of ample size to permit easy and rapid 





Plate 51.—Paint Storage Tank 


cleaning. Some tops are screwed on with accurately 
machined threads while others are clamped down tightly 
with levers. Usually the pressure regulating device 
and pressure gauge are part of the tank cover unit. 

Some of the larger paint storage tanks are mounted 
on wheels and are equipped with a handle while others 
are made with convenient handles so that they can be 
easily carried up on to a scaffold or roof. 

These tanks are also made in the form of a knapsack 
to be carried on the painter’s back. A convenient ar- 
rangement for staining or painting roofs, domes, smoke 
stacks, columns, steeples, ete. A 3-gallon capacity is 
about as large a load as a man wants to work with for a 
tank of this kind. 








74 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


The tanks having a capacity of 1, 4, 7, 8, 13 and 14 
gallons are the most commonly used for house painting 
purposes, depending upon the size of the job, quantity 
of paint mixed, ete. 

A moderate air pressure is placed upon the paint in 
the storage tank, usually just enough to force the paint 
to run out of the spray gun nozzle in a steady stream. 
Such pressure can be regulated usually by the valve on 
top of the tank. 

Air and Material Regulating Devices, Plate 52.—The 
material which may be paint, stain, varnish, enamel or 
other protective or decorative coatings is put into the 
paint storage tank and from there is forced through the 
rubber material hose to the spray gun. Some materials 
require considerable pressure—up to 50 or 60 pounds 
for the very thick, heavy pastes, while thin stains and 
light weight paints require very little pressure to force 
them to the spray gun. More pressure on the material 
in the tank is needed when the spray gun is working 
high up on a two or three story wall or roof than when 
working on the ground, no matter what material is being 
used. To make it unnecessary to carry high pressures 
in the paint supply tank the tank is usually carried up 
on the scaffold or roof so that the spray gun is not used 
more than 25 or 50 feet above the material supply. 
Much less air is needed to force the paint up to the 
spray gun than is required to atomize the paint at the 
nozzle for spraying purposes. Your spray gun has two 
rubber hose lines leading to it. One hose earries the 
paint and the other nothing but air. 

For the best work it is necessary to maintain a steady 
pressure of air on the paint in the storage tank. Your 
air storage tank will deliver to the paint storage tank 
much more air pressure than can be used. It is, there- 
fore, necessary to have a regulating device on a paint 
tank to admit a steady flow of air and maintain the de- 
sired pressure. 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 75 


The paint storage tank on most of the spray gun 
outfits has mounted on the cover an air controlling 
device and a pressure gauge which indicates the pres- 
sure of air on the material in the paint storage. On this 
regulating head is also mounted, as a rule, a second air 
pressure control device and a pressure gauge which 
control and indicate the amount of pressure carried in 
the air line hose which leads from the air storage tank 
to the spray gun. The trigger on the spray gun will 
control the air pressure and paint supply to better work- 
ing results when both air and material are regulated to 
a steady flow before reaching the gun. 

In other words, instead of carrying an air line hose 
from the air storage tank directly to the spray gun, this 
line is usually carried to the regulator and pressure 
gauge on the regulating head which is a part of the 
paint storage tank. Then, one air line hose and ma- 
terial line hose are carried to the spray gun from the 
regulating head. Some manufacturers use a somewhat 
different mechanical arrangement, but the result is the 
same in the respect that both the air pressure and the 
material supply to the gun are regulated for a steady 
flow. What this regulating device does is to take this 
high pressure of 100 or 200 lbs. of air in the air storage 
tank and reduce it to any desired pressure from 1 or 2 
pounds to 20, 50 or 60 pounds commonly used. 

The regulating or control head not only distributes 
air pressure and prevents paint from backing up into 
the air line hose, but also controls the speed at which 
your spray painting is done. You can set the air and 
material pressures so that you can paint a surface 
slowly or with great speed. 

Material Agitators—Some kinds of paints, when be- 
ing used with a common bristle brush, must be stirred 
every few minutes to prevent the pigment from separa- 
ting from the liquid. Materials which have a pigment 
that does not remain in suspension—such as bronze 








76 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


paints and red lead metal paint—must be agitated in a 
paint storage tank of a spray gun equipment. This agi- 
tation to prevent the pigment from settling in the 
bottom of the tank is usually accomplished by intro- 
ducing a stream of air which is discharged at the bottom 
of the tank and which, consequently, keeps the pigment 
and liquid stirred and in suspension all the time. Some 
paints require more agitation than others. For this 
reason the agitating device can be regulated by a valve 
or thumb screw device which may be set in whatever 
position you find necessary to keep the paint thoroughly 
mixed. 

Extension Spray Gun Handles—When using the 
spray gun in an ordinary manner it is not necessary to 
get as comfortably near to the surface as when using the 
common type of brush. To reach out-of-the-way places, 
however, without extra scaffold equipment, extension 
handles in various lengths of about 3, 6 and 9 feet are 
supplied. With such a handle attached to the regular 
spray gun the painter can reach high places comfort- 
ably without risk and do a good job of spray painting 
without building up more scaffold. 

Extension handles are especially useful for reaching 
surfaces in back of pipes on interiors, for painting flag 
poles, steeples, domes, and for reaching high ceilings of 
room interiors, while working from the floor without 
scaffold. In the latter kind of work a great deal of time 
is saved by working from the floor and, of course, the 
cost of handling the scaffold is saved. The spray gun 
is controlled from the lower end of the extension handles 
quite as effectively as when operating the guns with the 
regular handles. 

Hose and Connections, Plate 52.—To carry the air 
supply from the air storage tank to the paint storage 
tank a flexible rubber hose usually red in color is used. 
Then, to carry the air supply from the regulating head 
on the paint storage tank to the spray gun another red 


MECHANICAL PRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT oF 


AIR REGULATORS, GAUGES AND SAFETY VALVE 
FOR BOTH TANK AND MAIN LINE AIR PRESSURE 


G FLUID HOSE TO GUN 










AIR HOSE FROM COMPRESSOR 


FLUID HOSE TO GUN ww) iD AIR HOSE 
0 = son TO GUN 
AIR HOSE TO GUN \ ya) ae ay" IBS 


HANDLE FOR 
CARRYING 
TANK ANDO 
DETACHING 
HEAD 


FILLING PLUG 


Plate 52.—Air And Material Regulating Device 


rubber hose is commonly used. To carry the paint or 
other material from the paint storage tank to the spray 
gun a third hose usually black is needed. Such hose is 
assembled in 25 and 50 foot sections with tight fitting 
connections. Any number of these sections can be con- 
nected in order to assemble any desired length of hose 
for reaching high roofs or for operation when the com- 
pressor and power unit is placed in a basement while 
the spray guns are being used in the upper floors. 

Hose which is specially constructed for this purpose 
should be used. Common garden hose soon goes to 
pieces on the inside when in contact with paints and 
other materials sprayed. Then, little pieces of rubber 





























78 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


break off and clog the spray gun, causing loss of time 
for cleaning. 

Oi and Water Separators, Plate 53.—Moist air when 
compressed and stored in the air storage tank is apt 
to liquify to some extent and condense water in small 
amounts in the air line. Accumulations of such water 


I] 


ii Mt 


Plate 53.—Oil and Water Separator 


and of oil, dust or dirt coming through the air com- 
pressor, are a detriment to fine finishing, especially of 
varnish and enamel surfaces. 

Some spray gun outfits built for the painting con- 
tractor to use on exterior and interior surfaces to be 
coated with ordinary paint, enamel, mill white, calci- 
mine, stains, ete., do not require a separate oil and 
water filtering device, because oil, water and dirt are 
separated from the air by the air storage tank construc- 
tion. Other manufacturers furnish the oil and water 
separating device as a separate unit for all ordinary 
painting purposes as well as for fine finishing with 
varnishes and enamels. It is essential that oil, water, 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 79 


dust and all gritty particles be removed from the air 
spray going to the spray gun in order to avoid clog- 
ging and to secure clean coatings without discolora- 
tions. 

Trucks and Skids, Plate 54.—The portable spray gun 
equipment in which the painting contractor is interested 
is assembled in two ways by the manufacturers. One 
outfit composed of the air compressor, engine or motor, 
air storage tank and pressure gauge is mounted on a 
truck having small wheels and a handle by which this 





Plate 54.—Air Compressor and Power Unit Mounted on a Truck 


unit can be easily and quickly moved from place to 
place. 

The other assembly of the same units is secured to 
heavy wood or steel skids so that the complete outfit 
ean be installed on an automobile truck for transporta- 









































80 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


tion. With such an outfit the truck is usually run as 
near to the building as possible and only the spray 
eun, air and material hose and paint storage tank 
are taken into the building or upon the scaffold from 
which the building is being painted on the outside. 

Whitewash and Spray Pumps, Plates 55 and 56.— 
Such machines have been in use for many years. As 
constructed today with brass cylinder, bronze valves, 
seats and other working parts to guard against cor- 
rosion from any liquids sprayed, these pumps are sub- 
stantial and successful, indeed, for certain classes of 
work. They are not, however, designed for spraying 
oil paints or any heavy liquids and do not operate satis- 
factorily in such service. 

The machine pictured in Plate 55 is a convenient 
type which is equipped with an air chamber to assure 
a steady pressure at the spray nozzle. The pump 





Plate 55.—Whitewash Spray Pump 


handle, of course, is operated by hand and when in 
motion the pump sucks in the material and forces 
it through the discharge hose line to the end of which 
the spray nozzle is attached. This nozzle has a lever 


MECHANICAL SPRAY PAINTING EQUIPMENT 8] 


shut-off cock control which allows the material to be 
fed to the nozzle only as fast as it can be atomized 
and sprayed onto the surface as wanted. 

These machines are used extensively for decorating 
large rooms in factory, warehouse and other industrial 
buildings with whitewash, cold water paints, calcimines, 
ele: 

The machine sprayer shown in Plate 56 operates by 
compressed air and in a different manner than the 
whitewash pumps just described. 

These tank sprayers are useful to the painter in 





Plate 56.—Spray Tank and Pump 


many ways. They are used to spray a fine water mist 
on to wall paper to be scraped off and that speeds up 
the work considerably. They are used by some deco- 
rators to spray on glue size and also for coating new 
walls with caleimine. They do not operate satisfac- 
torily, however, for coating old dark walls with ecalc1- 


















































82 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


mine. This sprayer has also been used for the applica- 
tion of stain coats on shingle roofs. 

This type of sprayer is operated by putting the ma- 
terial to be sprayed into the tank. The top is screwed 
on tightly and the tank is pumped up to the air pres- 
sure needed to force the material out in a spray through 
the hose and nozzle control on the end of the hose. 
The strap secured to the spray tank permits the op- 
erator to carry the outfit on his back while spraying. 
This sprayer is not suitable for oil paints or any thick 
liquids. 


CHAPTER IV 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 


Cuatm to the interest of painters and decorators in 
correct scaffolding and ladder equipment and the proper 
use of it is made for more than one reason. Knowledge 
along this line is very important. 

One may devise various methods for reaching sur- 
faces to be painted and decorated, but not all of these 
means are safe, convenient or profitable. 

The first essential is to learn to avoid unnecessary 
risks to life and limb. The first law of nature—self- 
preservation—one might think should be sufficient to 
make men take the necessary care and be foresighted 
enough to eliminate dangerous scaffolding. It is not, 
however, as is abundantly proved by the many news- 
paper reports one sees of accidents in the building 
trades. Most accidents are preventable and would not 
occur except for carelessness, for the human trait which 
proves that familiarity with danger breeds contempt 
for it. 

The largest part of the cost of doing the average 
job of painting and decorating is labor cost. Much time 
and expense are wasted, often, in getting scaffold equip- 
ment to the job and erected in place in time to avoid 
having high priced mechanics standing around waiting 
to get at the surface. 

A painter works most efficiently in a space not higher 
than his breast, nor lower than his knees. He paints 
more surface working from the ground than from scaf- 


fold. Therefore, the more nearly these ideal conditions 
83 







































































84 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 






































Plate 57.—Painters’ Trestles 


° LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 85 


ean be approximated by having sufficient scaffolding 
correctly placed to give a mechanic a sense of security 
and solid footing the more work he will do; and he 
will do his work with less loss of his physical energy 
than when he must constantly over-reach to coat some 
surfaces of the job. 

In the most efficient paint shops of the larger size 
a specially trained crew of men put up all the scaf- 
folding on the jobs; these helpers also remove the equip- 
ment, leaving the painters only the task of preparation 
of surfaces and painting them. 


DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT 


Painters’ Trestles, Plate 57— While doing a job of 
interior painting and decorating the scaffold most com- 
monly used to reach ceiling and upper side walls are 
those made by placing 2, 4, or any number of trestles 
required in position and then locating planks on the 
top or lower rungs, as indicated in the illustration. 
These trestles are similar to the common type of step- 
ladder except that trestles are made with round rungs 
instead of flat steps and, of course, a trestle has no 
platform at the top. Trestles are made practically with 
a hinge joint at the top. These trestles are made in 
lengths of 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 feet. 

Some trestles are now made with steps on one side 
like a stepladder and round rungs on the other side. 
See Plate 58. 

Trestles are also used for outside painting to some 
extent for carrying planks to reach upper side walls 
of one-story cottages. 

Steel Trestles.—Trestles are being used to consid- 
erable extent now which are made of steel similar to 
that pictured in Plate 59. These trestles are collaps- 
ible, rather light in weight and will support great loads. 
They are, of course, fireproof and have a much longer 
life than wood trestles. It is easier to transport them 






























































86 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 





Plate 58.—Combination Trestle and Step Ladder 


from one place to another and they require less room 
for storage. They are practically unbreakable. The 
standard steel trestle is made in the following sizes: 


2 ft. high x 3 ft. wide 
3 ft. high x 8 ft. wide 
4 ft. 6 ins. high x 5 ft. wide 
5 ft. high <5 te wide 


Steel trestles are also made in an adjustable type, 
as indicated by Plate 60. These trestles are made 3 
ft. high x 5 ft. wide with a 2 ft. adjustable raise; also 
4 ft. high x 5 ft. wide with a 3 ft. adjustable raise. 











87 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS ‘AND SWING STAGES 























Trestle 


Plate 59.—Steel 





Plate 60.—Adjustable Steel Trestle 


88 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Stepladders, Plate 61.—For the use of paperhangers 
and decorators the common stepladder with flat steps, 
instead of round rungs, is most convenient and, of 





Plate 61.—Step Ladder 


course, the flat steps are more comfortable to stand 
on where one must work from the steps for any con- 
siderable length of time. The best types of stepladders 
are made with steel rod reinforcements through or 
under each step. Step ladders are made in sizes of 5, 
67, 8. and 10ttlong: 

Single Ladders, Plate 62.—The long ladder commonly 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 89 


used by painters is familiar to all and it is indis- 
pensable for exterior painting. It is possible, of course, 
to paint practically all of the surface of the average 
one- or two-story residence by using long ladders, but 














| 


| 
| 



































Plate 62.—Single Long Ladder 


Plate 63.—Extension Ladder | 
q 





90 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


it is more comfortable and convenient and saves time 
to work from planks extended from ladder jacks or sus- 
pended by other means. When working from a ladder 
the painter cannot reach much surface from one 
sitting and, consequently, is compelled to climb up and 
down the ladder a great many times every hour when 
working in this manner. A man can work much faster 
and more comfortably from planks resting on trestles, 
on ladder jacksfastenedtolongladders and upon a swing 
stage platform for the higher buildings with large sur- 
faces. Long ladders are not, therefore, used for large 
surfaces even though they easily reach such areas. 

High class long ladders are made of sound Norway 
pine or spruce, as a rule, and have turned hickory 
rungs. The rungs are mortised into the side rails and 
securely nailed, screwed or bolted in place with long 
bolts which run the full length through the center of 
the wood rungs. Long ladders are made in lengths of 
8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 ft. The best design is that 
having a bottom which is much wider than the top. 

Extension Ladders, Plate 63.—Such ladders are made 
practically the same as long ladders described above 
except that they are the same width at the top as at 
the bottom. These extension ladders are made to at- 
tach to long ladders, using a mechanical device, shown 
in the illustration, with which to fasten the two or 
more sections together. 

Extension ladders of the two-section type reach from 
20 to 40 feet, while the three-section type reaches from 
30 to 60 feet. 

Scaffold Planks——The planks most commonly used 
are 8 and 10 inches wide, preferably the latter, and they 
must, of course, be first class sound lumber of consid- 
erable strength. The lumber must be free from knots 
and other imperfections which lessen strength. 

Extension Planks.——There are on the market exten- 
sion planks which are decidedly convenient to use. 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES — 91 


They occupy half the storage space of ordinary planks, 
are lighter in weight and are just as strong. These 
planks are made in three sizes: 6 ft. long which opens 
to 1014 ft.; 8 ft. long which opens to 14 ft.; 10 ft. long 





Plate 64.—Platform Ladders 


which opens to 1714 ft. These planks are 11 inches 
wide. See Plate 57. 

Platform Ladders, Plate 64.—This modern form of 
extension ladder enables two or more men to work on 
the two platforms with safety, speed and comfort. By 
using two or three of these ladders with extension 
planks a scaffold is erected quickly from which a great 
deal of surface can be reached conveniently. The 
planks used with these platform ladders are 14 ft. long 






























































92 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and are trussed with steel. These trussed planks are 
also made in 12, 16 and 18 foot lengths. 

The platform ladder has a lower section 14 ft. and 
an upper section 10 ft. long. The upper section carries 
two platforms about 2 feet square, 614 feet apart. The 
ladders are light enough to be handled by one man and 
yet strong enough to carry the load of several men. 

Ladder Extension Feet, Plate 65.—When ladders 





Plate 65.—Ladder Extension Feet 


are used on exterior work where the ground is 
not level, because the lawn is terraced, it is often dif- 
ficult to gain a secure footing for both legs of the ladder 
without digging a hole in the grass or blocking up one 
leg more or less insecurely. The extension feet illus- 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 93 


trated here may be used under these circumstances 
and will permit you to place the ladder level and se- 


curely. 
Steel Ladder Shoes, Plate 66.—These are simple metal 





Plate 66.—Steel Ladder Shoes 


plates to be securely fastened on the bottom of long and 
extension ladders so that the ladders may be safely 
placed upon cement sidewalks, drives and roads where 


a footing is not always safe. 
Rung Repair Plate, Plate 67,—One who makes care- 





Plate 67.—Rung Ladder Repair Plate 















































94 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 
ful inspection of ladders often finds need for these little 
metal plates which enable the painter to make a per- 
manent repair of a rung which has been broken out 
of a ladder by some unusual shock or strain. 

Ladder Brackets, Plate 68.—There are several styles 
of metal ladder brackets made for the purpose of sus- 





Plate 68.—Ladder Brackets 


pending planks from extension ladders and long ladders. 
Some of these brackets are attached to the rungs of the 
ladder, while others are secured to the side rails and 
would seem to be safer if there are any defective rungs 
in the ladder used. These brackets may be fastened 
to the underside of ladders, as indicated, or they may 
be used on the outside from which to suspend planks 
in that position. 

Roof Ladder Hooks, Plate 69.—Such metal hooks as 
are shown are fastened to the top of the ladder used 
on roofs which have considerable pitch. The hook is 
fastened over the ridge of the roof. 

Window Bracket, Plate 70.—This device is simply a 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 95 














Plate 69.—Roof Ladder Hook 


























Plate 70.—Window Bracket 


plank which can be extended from a window sill to 
enable a painter to work on the outside of the window 
without a swing stage. These are used, of course, only 
where the windows are too high to reach with a long 
ladder and where the windows are numerous enough in 
a straight line on a wall to make the use of a swing 
stage the most convenient method of reaching the sur- 
face. 











96 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Adjustable Folding Scaffold, Plate 71.—In this equip- 
ment the painter is supplied with folding adjustable 
scaffold which is very strong and useful in many ways. 





Plate 71.—Adjustable Folding Scaffold 


Used for both interior and exterior surfaces as indi- 
cated in the illustration. The legs may be extended. 
They are made in three sizes:—314, 61% and 12 foot. 
The 314 ft. scaffold extends to 6 feet high; the 614 ft. 
scaffold extends to 101% feet high; the 12 ft. scaffold ex- 
tends to 21 feet high. 

Plate 71-A shows a new safety extension trestle. 

Plate 72 shows special scaffold units to be assembled 
for any job. 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 97 















































Plate 72.—Special Scaffold Units to be Assembled for Any Job i 


Ladder Bracket, Plate 73—An attachment of recent i 
design which, when secured to the top of any rung of 
a ladder, makes a secure platform. Planks may be ex- 
tended from two or more of these platforms to make a 
secure stage from which to paint. Useful also on steep i} 
pitched roofs. 











98 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Safety Ladder Bracket, Plate 74—These are mal- 
leable iron attachments which fasten to the top of long 





Plate 73.—Ladder Bracket 


aren 
Nee WSS 
‘ SSA WNW SR 
SSSA NS 


NEA 
BONY 
WOO 





NOK 
ANN NO | 
S NOON NONI 
“pe Se Nw 
(PANT WOE ARENT E 
JARO NNT NON SHEE nN 
ANN AAT RAT 
ISAO THN NNT NORD 
) NY NOT NOT 
BES AN ANAT ANH 
ANT NAAT | 5 
SSS BEN KON NNW 
} ROREY NAN ANY NON! 
ON ANAL GIN AON 
WNC BAT AA NH 
NN SOND AON NOT N= 











N QO ESAS NAAT NY 
NY NOON AAA MN 
\ QQ NNT AGN | 
NNN NOT MARE ANNA = 
y QO QT BEINN NV 
NY QO NAT ANN 
BN QT AQ NT 


=31N NOON NOAA 
NY NNN ANT 








} ANY MOT 
| NY NY NWT 





RAR 
RAN ANN NNT GE 
KOON WO NAA 
AWN NOT WW Ae 
EPS WON NOT NOT 
SSI MON DOT N 
CR! PHAR WON 
LAW WY \ 
Y MN Y= 
RRR 


\\ : 
A ANT 
SRROONE 





WOON 


Plate 74.—Safety Ladder Bracket 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 99 
ladders and extension ladders with thumb screws. They 
are designed to straddle windows enabling the painter 
to trim sash and frames easily. They also steady the 
ladder. 

Adjustable Stepladders, Plate 75.—Similar to ordi- 
nary trestles except that they are made with flat steps 
like stepladders securely fastened in place with irons. 
Also one side of this ladder has no steps, but is made 
with legs adjustable in length, so that the ladder may 
be used on:stairs as indicated in the illustration. 





Plate 75.—Adjustable Leg Step Ladder 


SWING STAGES 


See Plate 76. The scaffold equipment needed to reach 
the upper surfaces on buildings of the three story 
height and higher is usually a platform suspended from 
roof or cornice with ropes—swing stages, they are 
called. This equipment is a very old type used for 
generations. Little change has been made in swing 




















100 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 





Nye 
" 
‘ 
\ Sif, 
i | 

i 

(\ 

Ny 
wg: 


A \ EQ) 


Ne . 
yy \t 
S 





Av 


Plate 76.—Swing Stage 








101 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 





LSS 
Se 


= 

















ED _ 


ee) eS 


= YK 
SS) 


i 








g 


Le OE Sa — 


Plate 77.—Swing Stage Stirrups 


102 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


stages in general design in years, but many needed im- 
provements in details have been made. 

Swing Stage Stirrups, Plate 77—In the illustration 
the new improved stirrup with safety guard rail and of 
all metal construction is shown. These new stirrups are 
made of wrought iron to comply with safety regulation 
laws and are quite generally used in place of the old 
wood stirrups. 

Swing Stage Ladder Bracket, Plate 78.—Swing stages 
are sometimes placed where there is no opportunity to 
use cornice hooks, or where such hooks placed on cor- 
nices with wide overhang would swing the platform too 
far away from the wall to be coated. Under these con- 





Plate 78.—Swing Stage Ladder Bracket 


ditions the ladder bracket illustrated is placed on the 
top of each of two extension ladders, blocks are then 
hooked into these brackets and the platform is swung 
in the usual manner as when cornice hooks are used. 

Cornice Hook Extension Brackets, Plate 79.—Cer- 





Plate 79.—Cornice Hook Extension Bracket 


a as 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 103 


tain types of store front buildings are made with a 
cornice dropped a few feet below the top of the brick 
wall, thus making it impossible to throw cornice hooks 
over wall or cornice and allow the rope falls to run 
freely in the blocks. The extension brackets illus- 
trated are made to overcome this difficulty as pictured. 
The extension brackets are secured to the bottom of the 
cornice hooks. They project out beyond the cornice. 
Pulley Blocks, Plate 80.—Four blocks are needed for 
each swing stage. <A set consists of two single wheel 
blocks, each with a becket wheel at the bottom to which 
one end of the rope is tied, and two double wheel blocks 
as pictured. The blocks reinforced with iron straps are 
the only safe kind to buy. These blocks are made in 





Plate 80.—Pulley Block for Swing Stage Fall Ropes 


various sizes for different sizes of rope. A rope % 
inch in diameter uses blocks with a five-inch shell; the 
3/, inch rope uses six-inch blocks; the / inch rope uses 
seven- or eight-inch blocks. The larger ropes and blocks 























104 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


are much to be preferred because they carry much 
greater loads and so the factor of safety is greater. 
Swing Stage Rope Falls, Plate 81.—These ropes may 
be had in any length and only high grade rope should 
be used,—this is no place to economize. Manila rope 
is most commonly used. Sisal rope is not safe. The 
best grade of Manila rope will safely carry these loads: 


5g inch rope—4,000 pounds 

34 inch rope—4,700 pounds 

Yz inch rope—6,500 pounds 

100 feet of 5g inch rope weighs about 138 pounds 
100 feet of 34 inch rope weighs about 1644 pounds 
100 feet of 7% inch rope weighs about 25 pounds 


Ropes are subject to variation in quality the same 
as other merchandise and it is not safe to buy ‘‘just 
ropes.’’ Know what kind and quality you are buying 





Plate 81.—Swing Stage Rope Falls 


and deal only with responsible dealers and manufac- 
turers. 

Manila fibre from which good rope is made is not 
all of the same high quality. Also there are some struc- 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 105 


tural differences in ropes. Manufacturers make various 
grades of Manila rope for various purposes. The lower 
grades are good enough for some purposes but not for 
swing stages. Be careful, therefore, to name the pur- 
pose for which you want to use any rope purchased. 
The ropes used in the building trades pass through 
many hands before reaching the men who are to use 
them. There is more or less ignorance and confusion 
as to grades and qualities of ropes. The names “‘stan- 
dard,’’ ‘‘commercial’’ and ‘‘best’? may mean anything 
and not necessarily high quality. Private brand names 
may also be misleading. The most responsible manu- 
facturers, however, are careful to list ropes also as first, 
second and third quality. The man who really wants 
to know what he is buying can learn such information 
from manufacturers’ catalogs in the hands of dealers. 

In the illustration, Plate 81, are shown three types 
of rope. The one on the left is the common three- 
strand type of Manila rope of good quality used by 
painters for swing stages. It is satisfactory when the 
larger sizes—?4 and % inch—are used. The rope pic- 
tured in the center is a five-strand rope which costs 
only about one cent per foot more than the common 
grade and is much better. The fifth strand is called 
the heart or core and it adds considerably to the strength 
of the rope. The rope type shown on the right is a 
superior rope used a great deal in hoisting and marine 
service. It should be used more by painters. This rope 
costs quite a little more than common quality, but is 
a good investment at that because in addition to its 
greater strength and safety it has much longer life. 
This is a fibre-clad steel wire rope made of five strands. 
Each of the five wire strands is completely covered 
with the best grade of tarred Russian hemp marline. 
The center core or heart has no wire in it. This rope 
is not too stiff to handle. It will coil down as easily 
as Manila rope. The fibre covering protects the hands 

















106 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


from injury by the steel wire cables. Such rope is 
waterproof, rustproof and needs no lubrication. It 
cannot swell from moisture and jam in the pulley 
blocks. Dirt and dust cannot get in between strands 
and grind up the fibres. Fibre-clad rope is much 
stronger than Manila rope of the same diameter. Fibre- 
clad rope is about one-third the diameter of Manila 
rope having the same strength. Smaller blocks are, 
therefore, used with fibre-clad rope. The weight of 
fibre-clad rope is about one-half of that of Manila rope 
of the same strength. 

Rope Materials.—Manila hemp and sisal are used for 
rope making. Sisal is satisfactory for ropes which are 
not subjected to great loads. Sisal has about 25 per 
cent less strength than Manila hemp. Sisal makes 
rope which is less flexible than Manila rope and it 
also casts off splinters of fibre which injure the hands. 
The length of this fibre is considerably less than that of 
Manila. It is usually about three or four feet long 
while Manila fibre is three or four times that length. 
Sisal fibre deteriorates in the presence of moisture. 
Ropes made from Manila hemp are much superior to 
sisal ropes in strength, flexibility and length of life. 

Taking Care of Ropes.—No need to cite the wisdom 
of caring properly for ropes, the necessity is too ob- 
vious. But how to take care of them is not as well 
known as it should be. Ropes wear out and break 
for more than one reason. There is internal wear on 
ropes due to friction of the fibres and strands with each 
other. Such friction and wear are greatly increased 
when ropes are not lubricated and when ropes are 
given sharp twists and bends around square corners. 

The external wear on ropes is due largely to ac- 
cidents ;—ropes are pinched tnder heavy loads, they 
are squeezed between metal or other hard surfaces. 
Wear also comes from friction by running the rope 
through pulley blocks which are too small. Only, blocks 


As!) Se 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 107 


with large sheave grooves should be used ;—then the 
rope runs freely even when swollen with moisture. 
Ropes should not be permitted to scrape against window 
sills, stone cornice projections, wood beams, scaffold, ete. 
Also the pulley blocks must be kept lined up. When 
not in alignment the ropes chafe and wear. Ropes 
deteriorate from exposure to acids and the weather. 

Internal wear on ropes can be greatly lessened by 
keeping them free from dust, sand and mud. Ropes 
should not be dragged around but picked up and 
earried, if you would avoid having dirt grind up the 
internal fibres. 

Storing Ropes.—A clean, well ventilated room is best 
for storing ropes. Heat is not necessary. Especial care 
should be taken to keep all acids away from rope. 
Normally Manila fibre contains a small percentage of 
moisture and it should not be allowed to get bone dry. 
This fibre will, however, absorb as much as 30 per cent 
or 40 per cent of moisture in a damp storehouse. That 
is too much, although it is not true, as popularly be- 
lieved, that moisture promotes decay in Manila rope if 
there is not too much moisture present. An occasional 
wetting of ropes in very hot, dry weather is beneficial. 
Water soaked ropes ought not, however, to be covered 
up;—permit them to dry out naturally. Hang them 
up to dry. Manila fibre is made more brittle by a freez- 
ing temperature. What is called dry rot in ropes is 
induced by allowing water soaked ropes to be covered 
rather than hanging them up to dry out to the normal 
moisture content. 

Lubricating Ropes——Ropes which become too dry get 
fuzzy and brittle. It is the part of wisdom to lubricate 
and waterproof ropes and that at the same time seals up 
the strands so that dust and sand cannot enter between 
fibres and grind them up by friction. Probably the 
best lubricant and waterproofing agent is common beef 
tallow. Melt it in a kettle and while hot swab the ropes 



































108 HOUSE PAINTING METIIODS 


with it. Such lubrication of ropes increases their life 
to twice that of ropes which are allowed to get dry, 
‘dirty, water-logged and fuzzy. Lubricated ropes are 
also much more comfortable to handle and run more 
freely in the blocks. 

Inspection and Use of Ropes.—Ropes may have been 
put into excellent condition at the beginning of a busy 
season, but it will pay just the same to look them over 
every time they come back to the shop from a job. 
A rope which has been snubbed around a small square 
post or a sharp corner and been subject to an over- 
load will come through more than likely with a weak 
spot—the frayed and thinner strands indicate such 
weaknesses. And when a rope is thrown over a sharp 
cornice or other square roof projection to support a 
heavy swing stage without taking the precaution of 
using a pad of burlap or carpet on the edge, the rope 
fibres are sure to be ground together with such force 
as will weaken the rope. 

Ropes running through blocks should not be allowed 
to touch anything except the pulley wheels in the blocks, 
—don’t let them scrape against the sides of the block 
sheaves. Don’t let the ropes vibrate unnecessarily nor 
slip over pulley wheels which need lubrication so much 
that they no longer revolve. 

Injury to ropes occurs from a sharp nip of any kind 
whether due to a bad splice, a bad lead, hitch or short 
bend around a pin or post. Under these stresses the 
tension on the outer fibres is very great while the com- 
pression on the inner fibres is also great. This unequal 
distribution of the strain is bad for the life of the rope. 
Likewise, kinks and knots in ropes are very injurious; 
—hbreakage, then, will often occur when only a small 
strain is put upon the ropes. 

Rope fibres have a tendency to slip against each other. 
The fibres gradually lose their cohesion when subjected 
to excessive loads repeatedly or in a sustained manner. 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 109 


It is well to provide against this by using rope hav- 
ing a generous factor of safety; that is, rope rated too 
large for the load put upon it. 

The internal friction between fibres of ropes increases 
with the speed when running over pulley wheels. Heat 
caused by friction of rope rubbing against something 
also injures and weakens the rope. Small ropes become 






SS | 


al 
Ss 
= 
Stee, 

=] Bs 


Mee 






SSS SS 


RSSS SS 


SSE 


Plate 82.—Hoisting Machine 
unsafe much more quickly than large ropes. It is 
not easy to detect weak places in ropes caused by ex- 
cessive strain, decay or otherwise. Your only protection 
is to buy high quality ropes and then use and eare for 
them in the best possible manner. 
Hoisting Machines, Plate 82.—In this machine the 

















110 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


painter has one of the greatest improvements recorded 
in favor of swing stages. It not only makes this type 
of equipment much safer to use but also decreases the 
labor required by one-half or two-thirds. Hoisting 
machines using steel cable instead of ordinary rope 
are used by painters, bridge builders, building cleaners, 
ship yards and by others. 

~The hoist locks itself in position. It cannot let go 
or unreel the cable and cannot be unreeled until you 
turn the handles a little to raise the stage shghtly and 
then raise the locking lever at the same time turning the 
handles backward. The brake then goes into action im- 
mediately. On leaving a stage at night the handles 
cre removed and the machine is locked. The hoisting 
machine is used on swing stages and for boatswain’s 
chair tackle used on steeples, chimneys and high col- 
umns. 

The Use of Swing Stages.——The illustrations in Plates 
76, 77, 78, 79, 88, 84, 85 and 86-A show better than 
words the manner in which swing stages are rigged. 
Study the illustrations as it is important that the 
tackle be correctly rigged. The place to begin when 
rigging a swing stage is to place the platform stage on 
the ground at the bottom of the first stretch of wall 
to be painted. Place the stirrups or bumpers under the 
platform and lay the single blocks on the platform 
under each stirrup. 

Get out the coils of rope and carry them to the roof 
together with the cornice hooks and tie-back rope lines 
which should be at least one-half inch ropes. 

Place the cornice hooks securely over the capstone of 
the brick wall or over the cornice. Securely fasten 
the ends of the tie-back ropes to the rings in the upper 
end of each cornice hook. Carry the tie-back ropes 
straight back and secure them to the base of a chimney, 
soil pipe or any securely attached projection. The pur- 
pose served by these tie-back ropes is simply one of 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 111 


safety. They steady the hooks, and if the capstone or 
bricks should crumble or tear out of place by the load 
of the swing stage, the ropes will still hold the hooks 
in place to sustain their load. 

The cornice hooks may now be lifted up to the roof 
again and the two double-pulley wheel blocks should be 
hooked into place; the hooks on the blocks go through 
the eyes on the lower ends of the cornice hooks. 

Before lowering the cornice hooks into place again, 
bring the two single-wheel blocks up to the roof and 
proceed to rig the block and tackle outfit. Tie one end 
of the rope securely to the becket, which is the loop 
hole at the opposite end from the hook of the single 
wheel block. Put the other end of this rope through 
one pulley wheel of the double block. Carry the end 
down through the wheel of the single block; then up 
again and through the second pulley wheel of the 
double block; let the free end of the rope slide down 
over the cornice to the ground. 

The next task is to get the single block down to 
the ground so you can hook it into the eye hole of the 
stirrup. This single block is not heavy enough to go 
down of its own weight, so it is necessary to hang a 
weight onto the hook—a bucket of sand or stones serves 
this purpose well. Of course, some one must hold the 
free end of the rope fall which you dropped over the 
side to the ground so the bucket and block will not go 
down with a rush. 

Having the single block down and hooked onto the 
stirrup eye, place the cornice hook again firmly so it 
will rest on the top point where the tie-back rope is 
secured and on the lower end where the double block 
is hung. The arched center of the hook should have no 
bearing unless located as in Plate 83. 

When both sets of blocks and hooks have been lo- 
eated and rigged, go down and pull at the free ends of 
both ropes to lift the stage platform two or three feet 























HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 





Plate 83.—Proper Placing of Cornice Hooks 


te pe 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 113 


off- the ground and level for testing. The free end 
of the fall rope should be tied securely to the upper end 
of the metal stirrup rod, using a knot which is both 
secure and easily untied. Plate 86 illustrates various 
knots used for this and other scaffold rigging purposes. 

Place on the scaffold the full load of men and ma- 
terials and proceed to test it by springing it up and 
down. Then examine the cornice hooks and if all is 
secure you are ready to raise the stage to the top level 
and begin work. 

Before going up place the guard rail in place in its 
iron supports which are a part of the metal stirrups. 

There are a number of precautions which every pru- 
dent workman will observe when using swing stages. 
It is especially necessary for new men to observe these 
precautions. 

The very first rule to observe is to be careful to 
keep a man’s weight on the outside of the stage and 
hands off the wall. But a comparatively light push 
against the wall will swing the stage out and may throw 
one or more men off. 

It is a good plan to have one man on the roof to 
observe the action of cornice hooks while the first test 
is made of the setting. Sometimes the hooks squirm 
around and need more secure footing. Keep in mind 
also that the strain pulls outward more as the stage is 
raised nearer the roof. 

Cornice hooks ought never to be located with the 
upper sharp points resting on metal gutters ;—a block 
of wood under each point makes a safer hold, but even 
then there is some doubt. 

There are other ways to secure the upper tackle block 
to the roof or cornice, but none is so good as the use 
of cornice hooks. Some of the older painters simply 
throw the looped end of a double rope over the cap- 
stone of a brick wall or over a cornice as noted in Plate 
84. The ends of the rope are carried back and secured 











114 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


like a tie-back line to a chimney base or other projection. 
There is more risk in this proceeding than one should 
take, especially if a pad of carpet or a bag of sand are 
not used under the rope, where it turns sharply over 
the edge, to prevent the cutting of the rope. Nothing 
smaller than a new one-inch rope should be used for 
the tie-back, and the hook of the block should be secured 





Plate 84.—The Rope Lockout 


in the loop of the rope with an artificer’s knot, similar 
to the clove hitch shown in Plate 86. 

Another device used sometimes in the absence of roof 
cornice hooks is called a cantilever lookout. It, too, is 
dangerous. A plank is run out of a window two or 
three feet and a rope or metal band is used to attach 
the pulley block to the end of the plank, as in Plate 85. 





Plate 85.—Cantilever Lookout 


If the plank is long and sound, if enough weight, in 
the form of boxes, barrels or bags, is put on the inside 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 115 


end and if some one doesn’t come along and remove 
the weight, the painters on the scaffold are fairly safe. 
But why gamble on so many risks when good cornice 
hooks eliminate them? 

A real source of danger lies in the hitches neces- 
sary to hold the scaffold in position. Particular care 
should be taken to see that every man working on the 
scaffold understands fully the safest means of making 
the necessary hitches to insure the scaffold remaining in 
place. Carelessness on the part of one man handling 
the falls may result fatally not only to himself but 
others on the scaffold with him, and to people passing 
underneath, where the scaffold is swung over a sidewalk. 

Rope, Knots and Hitches, Plate 86.—In former years 
it was more necessary to know all about knots and 
hitches, because ropes were more used in rigging scaf- 





Plate 86.—Ropes, Knots and Hitches 


folds than they are today. Now mechanical devices are 
performing these functions much better and safer. 

Knowing some of the more common hitches and knots 
is still of considerable value to a painter. There are 
probably two dozen different hitches and knots in use, 
but the several shown on Plate 86 are sufficient, no 
doubt, for needs today. 











METHODS 


PAINTING 


HOUSE 


116 





Sr roo ———_——— 


Plate 86-A.—Method of Rigging Fall Ropes for Swing Stage 





AL; 


LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS AND SWING STAGES 


PANN 


TAXA 


aa 








Sk WOES GE Se |) SE Ce eS ee a 
i ee Le ee 


























eee 
AGRA EERE | | 





—Special Built-up Scaffold 


Plate 87 


118 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


The hitches and knots shown are: The backwall hitch 
used for making the loose rope fall fast to the lower 
hook; the clove hitch for making a loose rope end fast 
to a rail or turning a tight double strength eye in 
the bight or loop of a rope; the timber hitch used to 
make a rope end fast to a plank or timber being hoisted 
up or lowered from a roof; the square reef knot used 
for tying two rope ends together; the bowline used 
to make an eye loop which will not run; the round turn 
and two half-hitches for making a rope end fast to 
any part of an object with a large diameter like a 
barrel. All of these knots and hitches are easy to 
learn to tie and they will not jam tight under a load. 
A painter who knows how to tie all these knots and 
hitches is able to make himself useful for any scaffold 
work encountered. 

Special and Built-up Scaffolds. Plates 87, 88 and 
89.—There are various types of patented scaffolding in 
use which can be built up with ladders of common 
kinds and fastened with braces and irons with bolts. 
to hold them in place. Plate 88 indicates one way in 
which this sort of scaffold can be built up. Wherever 
there are high porch columns, as on colonial homes and 
public buildings, and where there are interiors with 
very high ceilings, as in public buildings, this sort of 
scaffold is very useful. In some sections of the country 
there are firms which are organized for carrying on a 
scaffolding business. They erect and remove such seaf- 
folding on a contract basis. 

Plate 88 illustrates the common way of building up 
scaffolds with two-by-four and four-by-four and four- 
by-six timbers. Painters, interior decorators, car- 
penters and plasterers use this type of scaffold for 
interiors of churches, banks, theaters and other large 
interiors. The cost of such scaffolding is great, not only 
because of the large amount of lumber used, but because 
considerable labor is necessary. 














119 


























ee SNE 
a TUTTI DELLE | Seantieep tae 





= == — 


\\e 


oa 
2 
s 
oa 
i} sete 
<a =. 





120 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Large factory interiors with ceilings of moderate 
height are often spray painted without scaffold other 
than two saw horses mounted on truck easters, as indi- 
cated in Plate 89. Very rapid progress can be made 
by this simple arrangement when painting ceilings. 














me IS 

= = 9 
| A) Cnet vs 
ami Eee 


SS) —aS— 7 
IP \y —Twie\ 
{AF = 


Wes? 7 PY, 
= Z Va Uf if 


Plate 89.—Sawhorse Scaffold on Wheels for Spray Painting 






—— eh 
—<————— [Fr 








CHAPTER V 
MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 


Tim ability of any mechanic to do first class work 
and a reasonable amount of it every day depends upon 
his having good tools, upon his ability to keep those 
tools in first class condition and upon his inclination 
to care for his tools. The trade of painting and deco- 
rating has made considerable progress in the design and 
construction of tools during the past few years and it 
is to the advantage of every skilled worker to acquaint 
himself with improvements in tools as rapidly as they 
are made. One of the best ways to gain this knowledge 
is to cultivate the habit of reading the advertisements 
in trade papers and elsewhere. For the benefit of those 
who have not followed the development in improved 
tools, the author believes that it will be interesting to 
many to note the following descriptions of standard 
tools and of those which are of more recent invention. 

Blow Torch Paint Burners, Plate 90.—The gasoline 
torch has, of course, been on the market for many years 
and the general appearance of all types is not much 
changed. There have been minor improvements, how- 
ever, in the burner generating unit, which make some 
torches much more effective tools than others, because 
the flame is hotter and the better torches produce a 
steady flame without clogging and the consequent ne- 
cessity for tinkering. 

The common blow torch is filled with gasoline, pref- 
erably high test. It is pumped with just enough air 


to assure a steady flow of gasoline up through the 
121 











122 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


burner needle valve. Care should be taken to avoid 
putting in more air than is necessary. It is possible to 
put in so much air that the bottom will be blown out 
and the solder joints broken. Care should also be taken 
to avoid turning the valve wheel too tight. If this is 
done the valve seat will be injured and the toreh will not 
work as efficiently thereafter. 

To light the torch it is simply necessary to fill it with 
gasoline through the plug at the bottom, replace the 
plug in the opening and turn it fairly tight with the 
fingers or a short rod—do not use a wrench. As a 
rule about a dozen strokes of the pump handle will 
supply enough air. The valve is then opened a little 
by turning the valve wheel to the left until liquid 
gasoline flows out and fills the little cup under the 





Plate 90.—Blow Torch Paint Burner 


burner and generator. Light this gasoline with a 
match, place the burner in a location protected from the 
wind and allow the gasoline to burn out completely. 
Just before the last bit of gasoline has been consumed 
open the needle valve by turning the wheel to the left 
a little and the gasoline vapor which issues from the 
generator will take fire and burn rather unsteadily 
until all of the gasoline in the cup has been consumed 
and until the burner gets hot. The torch depends upon 
a hot burner to generate gas from the liquid gasoline 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 123 


forced up through the needle valve by the air pressure. 
When the fiame turns blue and ceases to flare up 
yellow you may open the needle valve a little more by 
turning the wheel to the left. The more you turn 
the valve open the hotter the flame will be. 

The principal use to which the gasoline blow torch 
is put by painters is that of removing cracked and 
scaled paint from the outside of buildings. Occasion- 
ally, the blow torch is used on interior surfaces, but not 
often. 

Acetylene Gas Paint Burners, Plate 91.—This is an 
improved tool used for the same purposes as the gaso- 
line blow torch. The outfits consist simply of a steel 
tank loaded with gas, the same kind of tank as was 
originally used for automobile lighting and is still used 
for lights on automobile trucks. A long hose extends 
from the valve control on the top of the tank to a 
metal nozzle end having a wood handle. The flame at 
the nozzle of the burner may be regulated easily so as 
to produce a thin sheet of flame with a spread of 3 
inches, or one of only about 1% of an inch. The flame 
can be accurately directed along a straight line when 
desired. The heat is very intense, much more so than 
can be secured from the ordinary type of paint burner. 
This type of burner weighs only 10 ounces; it can be 
lighted or relighted instantly without generating and 
so saves fuel and time. 

The use of the burner is simple. It is necessary 
only to attach the hose to the tank, attach the metal 
burner to the other end of the hose, adjust the flame 
to the size wanted and then direct it on the surface. 
The burner is held in the left hand and a broad knife 
scraper is used with the right hand. The flame is held 
onto the paint and as the paint blisters up the flame 
is moved onto another spot while the blistered paint is 
scraped off with the scraper in the right hand. It is 
claimed that this type of paint burner saves about one 

















124 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


third of the cost of removing old paint. It saves both 
on fuel and labor. 
When the tank is empty it can be returned to the 





Plate $1.—Acetylene Gas Paint Burner 


gas service station where a new tank will be supplied 
at the cost of the gas only. 








Plate 92.—Putty Knife 
Putty Knwes, Plate 92.—This tool is known to all 
mechanics and is used by painters and decorators for 
a great many purposes. Its original purpose was, of 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 125 


course, that of placing putty into holes and cracks on 
surfaces and for placing the putty on the outside of 
window frames to hold the glass securely in place. 
Many styles of putty knives are made, but in general 
they are very much alike. Some blades are more flex- 
ible than others, some are made of better steel than 


others. Likewise there are differences in shapes and | 


styles of handles depending upon the ideas of the 
many manufacturers of this tool. The putty knife is 
used to a large extent for scraping off paint, plaster 
accumulations, etc. Scraping knives which are much 
broader of blade are more effective when working on 
- large surfaces. 

Scraping or Stopping Knives, Plate 93.—This tool is 





Plate 93.—Scraping or Stopping Knife and Glass 


virtually the same as a putty knife except that the 
blade is wider and usually more flexible. While putty 


a 


KC 


Plate 94.—Rubbing Pad 
knife blades are, as a rule, about 114 inches wide, stop- 
ping or scraping knives are made with blades from 
214, to 4 inches wide. These knives are made for serap- 
ing off paint or other materials and for filling holes and 
eracks with putty. 
Rubbing Pads, Plate 94.—This tool is used for rub- 








126 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


bing enameled or varnished surfaces with fine pumice 
stone or rotten stone, using water or oil. The purpose 
of the rubbing is to remove the gloss and to produce 
a very smooth, satin-like finish. Pads are made up in 
many sizes, but the one shown is 214 inches wide and 
6 inches long. <A piece of thick felt fastened onto a 
wood block with tacks is often used for the same pur- 


pose. 
Brush Extension Handle, Plate 95.—While working 





Plate 95.—Brush Extension Handle 


in factory building interiors, and sometimes in office or 
store buildings, there are some surfaces which are very 
difficult to reach because of obstructions consisting of 
pipes usually. Such surfaces are often reached by using 
a long pole as an extension handle for a common brush. 
An extension handle is also handy for reaching high 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 127 
places such as chimney stacks, flag poles, ete. The 
extension handle enables you to reach such surfaces 
without scaffolding. 

Paint Strainers, Plate 96.—There are on the market 





Plate 96.—Paint Strainers 


various tools designed for straining of paint. The il- 
lustration shows the two types commonly sold. The one 
at the top and to the left is a paper strainer of cone 
shape and it is intended for use only once or twice. 
They cost little. The other strainer is made of tin and 
it is provided with a wire screen bottom which can be 
taken out for cleaning and can be replaced with new 

















128 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


screen when needed. The painter, of course, commonly 
uses a piece of fly screen for straining paint and this 
is all right when used simply to aid \the mixing opera- 
tion. If the paint is rather clean to begin with and 
is being mixed for exterior surfaces, the fly screen 
strainer serves the purpose. However, when straining 
varnish, enamel or paint for fine interior surfaces, fly 
screen is not fine enough. A double thickness of cheese 
cloth when tied over the top of a clean paint bucket 
makes a much better strainer. 

Paint Mills, Plate 97—Years ago the paint mill was 
very essential equipment for every paint shop. Then it 





Plate 97.—Paint Mills for Grinding 


was customary to buy dry white lead, dry colors and 
erind the dry pigments with oil by hand. That is a 
waste of time today and it is not possible to produce by 
that method paints and enamels which are equal to 
the high class manufactured products. The paint mill 
has but minor uses in the modern paint shop. The 
mixing of putty, fillers and grinding up old paint skins 
constitute the principal use to which the paint mills 
are put today. Paint mills are made in four sizes, from 
14-gallon to 3-gallon capacity; they are made to be 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 129 





























Plate 98.—Paint Mixing Machines 


130 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


operated by hand or by belt power from an electric 
motor or gasoline engine. 

Paint Mixing Machines, Plate 98.—The mixing of 
rather large batches of putty, floor fillers, paints and 
colors is most economically done by using paint mills 
of the same type as are used by manufacturers. Every 
well equipped paint shop should have at least a hand 
power paint mill and the mills which run by motor or 
engine using a belt easily pay for themselves in the 
larger shops by the time saved. Often the reclaiming of 
the small amounts of paint in the bottom of pots 
brought back from jobs will pay for a paint mill in 
a year’s time. This reclaimed paint is run through the 
paint mills, being careful to keep the light and dark 
colors separate. With proper handling such paint is 
very useful for many purposes, especially for brick and 
other rough areas. Paint mixing machines do not grind 
the paint, they simply do a thorough job of mixing 
and break up the pigment much more effectively than 
ean be done by hand. These machines are made in 
various sizes from 5-gallon capacity to many times 
that quantity. The machines are easily cleaned and the 
tanks may be lifted out of position quickly. 











Plate 99..—-Mixing' Paddles 


Mixing Paddles——The paddle most commonly used, 
of course, is one which is made of wood and, as a matter 
of fact, most any kind of a stick is considered good 
enough. As a matter of fact, a paddle which is carefully 
made does the work more quickly. An ideal paddle is 
one which is shown in Plate 99 and one which is plenty 


4 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 131 


long enough to permit the use of both hands when 
large batches of paint are being mixed. The metal 
paint mixer is used to some extent and is effective. 


Palette Mixing Knife, Plate 100.—This tool is used, 


as a rule, only in the shop for mixing small batches of 





Plate 100.—Palette Mixing Knife 


fine pigments or colors on a stone or glass mixing slab. 
With such a tool the mixing can be thoroughly done 
and color matches are easily made in this manner. 
Pots and Tubs, Plate 101.When mixing paint it 
is well to have a pot or tub which is at least twice as 


itn | a 
u Tt aw ue roi! 
ae aN 
ani 1 


| 


il ‘ai i 


iuamesseeanaee oh 


‘qi ce : 
be Ii. 


May “UA wets ro wuld 
he ee 


Plate 101.—Pots and Tubs for Paint Mixing 


large as is necessary to hold the quantity of paint 
being mixed. Empty barrels are used for large batches 
of paint, sometimes a barrel is sawed through the middle 
to make two mixing tubs. These are very handy for 








SSS 


—— SSS 





ISE Ye HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


use in the shop. Empty 100-lb. white lead kegs and | 
also the 5-gallon size of prepared mixed paint con- 
tainers make excellent mixing pots. The 1-gallon pre- 
pared paint pails and 25- and 50-lbs. white lead buckets 
are the best possible pots to carry around on the job. 
Paint Agitator, Plate 102.—This is a tool of recent 
desigr. and it is used for the rapid mixing of paints, 





Plate 102.—Paint Agitator of a New Type 


enamels and other materials as indicated by the illustra- 
tion. 

Wall Scraper.—For removing cracked, scaled and 
blistered paint and also old wallpaper this tool is an 
improvement over the small hand scrapers because the 
handles are made in lengths of from 9 inches to 28 
inches, thus enabling one to use both hands in the work. 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 133 


Where large surfaces are to be scraped a man can do 
more and better work using two hands. 

Steel Wire Brushes, Plate 103.—These tools are made 
in various sizes and shapes with many grades of wire. 





TTT ATA TATTAT 
Wh a: 
Wy 


Hl 





— — —— = 
———— Se 
es en RSS Se EL Sees 


A Abia 





Plate 103.—Steel Wire Brushes for Cleaning 


Some brushes have long flexible wire of considerable 
strength and thickness while others have short wire. 
Some brushes are made up with rather soft flexible wire 
also. We are illustrating the three types of brushes 
most commonly used by painters for removing scaled 
paint, rust and dirt on brick and metal surfaces. Some 
brushes cannot be used on wood surfaces because they 
will injure the wood by scratching. 











134 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Sand Bellows, Plate 104.—A tool which has been used 
to a greater extent in the past than the present. The 
purpose served by the sand bellows is that of blowing 
fine dry beach sand into wet paint. Such a treatment 





Plate 104.—Sand Bellows 


of paint has been used more extensively on railroad 
stations than elsewhere to prevent the boys from eutting 
their initials in the wood with pocket knives. Paint 
loaded with sand in this manner is very apt to scale off 
and for that reason the sanding of paint is not done as 
much as formerly. 

Bung Spouts, Gates and Faucets, Plate 105.—These 
devices are simple metal spouts to be attached to the 
hole in a barrel of oil, turpentine, benzine or varnish. 
They enable you to keep the hole closed and to drain 
out the barrel completely. They are made of metal 
and are easily attached and removed from barrels. 

Moulding Scrapers, Plate 106.—For the removal of 
paint from curved mouldings these serapers of various 
Shapes prove to be handy, time saving tools. They are 
made of good steel, properly tempered and can be 
sharpened when necessary. 

Ship Scrapers, Plate 107.—For the removal of heavy 
coats of paint, iron rust, ete., the large scraper used for 
seraping down the sides of ships is a handy tool which 
is being used in many places by painters. This scraper 
is 17 inches long and has a comfortable handle. The 
blade is 414 inches wide, bevelled and extra thick. 


Ee 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 135 





Benzine & Turpentine Faucet 


Plate 105.—Bung Spout, Gate and Faucet 


Glass Cutters, Plate 108.—The glass cutter is a tool 
known to every one. There are various styles of handles 
and sizes, all of which accomplish the same purpose with 


























136 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS. 


AG OA 





Plate 107.—Ship Scraper 


ae 
ee 


Plate 108.—Glass Cutters 


more or less efficiency. The illustration shows a com- 
mon type of cutter, the real diamond point cutter and 
the circle glass cutter. The effectiveness of a glass 
cutter depends to a large extent on holding the tool cor- 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 137 


rectly in a vertical position and between the first two 
fingers, using the thumb to steady the tool. 

Glass Pliers, Plate 109.—Where any considerable 
amount of glazing is done it is necessary to have glass 


—————— 


Plate 109.—Glass Pliers 


pliers to handle the cut off edges of glass. They save 

time and make more certain of clean cut edges. 
Glaziers’ Hammers, Plate 110.—This tool is used for 

driving the little triangular glazing points into position 


nr 


a 


Plate 110.—Glaziers’ Hammer 


quickly without danger of breaking the glass. 
Automatic Putty Guns, Plate 111.—When a great 
number of windows are to be glazed and puttied the 
putty gun shown in the illustration speeds up the work 
because it enables the glazier to run out just the right 


i 


Plate 111.—Automatic Putty Gun 








amount of putty and place it in the proper position. 
The putty gun holds a quantity of putty in good con- 





























138 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 
















SSL ON RAEN 
NUNS: NVA YS VO NAY NE SNS AN ale ahs Alo a. whe SW ANN Aa pie ay ake 
mimi i i ————————————} 


A\ay \_\\\ \\ 
AGr cu 
Yak Sh a) S\ 6) DL 8) 








Plate 112.—Glass Cutting Board 


dition for several days and it may also be used to drive 
the glazing points into position. 

Glass Board, Plate 112.—A level board marked off 
in inch squares. The board is square and level. By 
using a ‘‘T’’ square you can be sure of cutting glass 
square on this board, or by using an ordinary rule and 
following the square lines of the board the cutting can 
be made with sufficient accuracy. 

Glazier’s ‘‘T’’? Square, Plate 113.—A tool similar to 
the ‘‘T’’? square used by mechanical draftsmen. It is 






Plate 113.—Glaziers’ “TT” Square 


used on a square glass board for a guide to be followed 
in cutting glass. 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 139 


Glazier’s ‘‘L’’ Square, Plate 114.—This is a tool used 
on a square glass board for cutting glass to true dimen- 
sions. 





oe «66 
SAA AAAATARAAAAMAARRARAAAAAAMARadAg 
9 

Plate 114.—Glaziers’ “L’’ Square 


Drop Cloths.—These are large pieces of light weight 
duck or canvas used to cover up floors, furniture, mer- 
chandise in stores and factories and cement sidewalks, 
etc. Any size can be secured but the sizes commonly 
carried in stock are 9x12, 12x12, 12x15, 14x16. 

Electric Floor Surfacing Machines.—The painting 
and decorating industry needlessly expends a great deal 
of human energy doing by hand numerous tasks which 
can be done better, cheaper and with a saving of time by 
electric power. 

Plate 115 illustrates two machines of the floor sur- 
facing type which are operated by electric motor. The 
motor drives a revolving cylinder, or drum, covered 
with a large sheet of coarse or fine sandpaper. These 
machines are easily directed and controlled in any 
room. They quickly strip off old paint and varnish 
finishes. Furthermore, they grind down rough areas 
and high board edges, making a floor much superior to 














140 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 





Plate 115.—Floor Surfacing Machines 


the original hand scraped surface as to color and 
smoothness. 

Plate 116 illustrates two machines which are useful 
to the painter and decorater in many ways. Various 





Plate 116.—Electric Floor Finishers 


kinds of revolving tools are attached to these machines: 
—a fibre brush for scrubbing floors; a wax spreading 
brush; a wax polishing brush for floors, table tops and 
other polished surfaces; steel wire brushes for heavy 


a ee eS —— 


ae 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS tat 


scrubbing of wood, marble, tile and terrazzo floors and 
for removing accumulations of grease, oil, dirt and old 
coats of paint, wax and varnish from any floor; a sand- 
papering dise to which fine sandpaper is attached for 
smooth finishing of floors; a polishing pad; a pumice 
pad of felt for removing stains and rubbing floors and 
furniture to a smooth and level surface; a carborundum 
dise for grinding down marble and terrazzo floors. 

In this type of machines you have tireless workers 
which ean be connected with any electric light socket 
and which will scrub, sandpaper, wax and polish. 

Sandpaper.—Of the many grades of sandpaper on 
the market the common product is useful only for dry- 
sanding surfaces. There is no doubt, however, that the 
better grade of papers and those which can be used for 
wet rubbing with water, turpentine or oil are much to 
be preferred. They prepare a surface just as well and 
with some of the better papers much faster than dry 
sanding. At the same time they avoid raising dust 
which is so injurious to health. 

The fineness or coarseness of sandpaper is rated as 
Pies (or 000), 2/0 (or 00),.0, %, 1, 1%, 
2, 214, 3, 314, 4, 41%. No. FF is the finest and No. 
41% the coarsest. 

Most of the sandpaper used by the house painter 
comes in sheets 9 x 11 inches or thereabouts. The finer 
grades used on automobiles, furniture finishing and on 
interior wood trim of houses is cut into small sheets 
about the right size to fit the hand. For the sanding 
of floors it is well to remember that large sheets of sand- 
paper can be secured for use on a board. A piece of 
plank about 10x18 inches having a broom handle 
secured to the center to work like a waxing brush and 
with a brick or two on top for weight saves a great deal 
of labor. <A large sheet of sandpaper is secured to the 
board, being lapped over at both ends and fastened with 
thumb tacks. <A brick or two may be placed on top for 

















142 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


extra weight. With such a tool floors are quickly sur- 
faced without working on hands and knees. Note 
Plate 117. 

A ream of sandpaper is 480 sheets of single-faced 
paper of any size, or 240 sheets of double-faced paper. 

A quire of sandpaper is 24 sheets,—any size. 

Sandpaper can be secured also in rolls 50 yards long 
and from 4 to 28 inches wide. Rolls are used chiefly in 
factory and millwork as belt sanders. 

Steel Wool.—This abrasive is used for the same pur- 






hae SANOPAPER 

TACKED ON | 
END WITHA 
WOOD LATH | 
CLEAT. 

















ca, 


Plate 117.—Hand Made Floor Surfacer 








ep ayrey eh 





poses aS sandpaper and pumice. stone. It is made in 
these grades. 


No. 00,—equal to FF pumice stone 

No. 0,—equal to F pumice stone 

No. 1,—equal to No. 0 sandpaper 

No. 2,—equal to No. 7 sandpaper 

No. 3,—equal to Nos. 11% and 2 sandpaper 
Fine steel shavings 


MISCELLANEOUS PAINTERS’ TOOLS 143 


Medium steel shavings 
Coarse steel shavings 


Felt Rubbing Pads.—You can buy sheets of rubbing 
felt about 18 inches square or cut to any size desired 
and which is one-fourth or one-half inch thick. Two 
grades are sold—hard and soft. This felt can be cut up 
and secured to a wooden block of a convenient size to fit 
the hand. See Plate 94. The felt is cut about 1 inch 
longer than the block, the ends are curled up and tacked 
onto the ends of the block. There are various types of 
rubbing pads on the market which are convenient and 
which do effective work. 

Sandpaper Holders, Plate 118.—Mechanics who are 





Plate 118.—Sandpaper Holder 


very particular about having first class tools often pre- 
fer sandpaper holders which are made by manufac- 
turers especially for this purpose. One type of holder 
is pictured in the illustration. A plain block of wood 
of a convenient size to fit the hand is often used for 
sandpapering and it will, of course, do a better job 
than when no block is used, because it exerts an even 
pressure on the paper and surface. 

Pointing Trowels, Plate 119.—A tool preferred by 


i 


Plate 119.—Pointing Trowel 
some painters for filling holes and large cracks in plaster 
walls. It is better than a putty knife or stopping knife 
for some fillings. The steel blade is 4 x 21% inches. 


i) 





CHAP DERBVa 
PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 


ALTHOUGH there is a rather wide division of opinion 
among painters in their preferences for one kind of 
paint or another, it is the author’s idea that when you 
eliminate personal preferences and prejudice there is 
often little choice to be made, based on facts, as between 
one kind of paint and another; that is, when the very 
best quality of each type of paint is considered. The 
author does not presume to advise painters to use one 
kind of paint or another. Each has its advantages and 
some disadvantages. Some painters prefer and use 
pure white lead paint mixed in their own shops and 
nothing else; some use only factory-made prepared 
paint and others are equally strong in their preference 
for shop-mixed paint, using white lead and zine in com- 
bination, sometimes, with a moderate amount of inert 
pigments. 

On one point it is suggested that you be very careful, 
that is, that while most brands of strictly pure white 
lead are equal in quality, from the standpoint of dura- 
bility at least, the various brands of prepared or fac- 
tory-mixed paint are far from equal to each other in 
durability, hiding or spreading qualities. When you 
compare the very highest quality of mixed paints, the 
best brands made by each of the leading and responsible 
manufacturers, with each other you are apt to have dif- 
ficulty in choosing one paint in preference to others or 
in preference to shop-mixed white lead or white lead 
and zine paint. When you compare the medium priced 


and low priced factory-made mixed paint, or so called 
144 


—_—— -— 


————— 


PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 145 


combination lead paints, with the best quality of pre- 
pared paint, or white lead paints, the differences are 
very marked as to hiding qualities, durability and the 
amount of surface covered per gallon. A great deal 
of the differences of opinion among painters as to the 
preference for one type of paint over another are pos- 
sible only because of unfair comparisons, that is, by 
comparing cheap and medium grades of factory-made 
prepared paints with high grade prepared paint or 
shop-mixed white lead, or white lead and zine paints. 

To sum up, then, it is the author’s idea that you. can 
do first class jobs of painting with high quality paint 
of the white lead, white lead and zine, or factory-made 
prepared paint, and that where your trouble begins is 
when you use cheaper brands of prepared paints or 
shop-mixed white lead paint which has been extended 
by mixing into it too large a percentage of zine, silica, 
whiting, barytes, asbestine, etc. Unless a painter knows 
considerable about chemistry and the peculiar charac- 
teristics of paint pigments he is apt to run into trouble 
when he tries to mix paint which departs from a 
standard of pure white lead and linseed oil with from 
10 per cent to 15 per cent of zinc oxide added. The 
other paint pigments have certain values, but unless 
used with exact knowledge and science they will make 
trouble, Titanium oxide is another basic paint pigment 
which is new and which is the subject of much experi- 
ment today. It is interesting because of its great 
capacity, but its merits have not been definitely proven 
as yet. 

The subject of basic paint pigments, oils, thinners 
and driers is one which is very large, too large, in fact, 
to present in a thorough manner in this book. Full 
information concerning these paint ingredients is found 
in the author’s book ‘‘ The Mixing of Colors and Paints.”’ 

General Mixing Facts—When either raw or boiled 
linseed oil is mixed with white lead the resulting paint 











146 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


will have a gloss finish unless the surface is exceedingly 
dry and porous. 

When turpentine, mineral spirits or benzine are 
mixed with white lead or other paint pigments, the 
resulting film will dry flat without any gloss. 

When flatting oil is mixed with white lead or other 
paint pigments the paint film will dry flat or semi-flat, 
depending upon how much oil is in the pigment base. 
The film will have a slight sheen to it and will not be as 
nearly dead fiat as when turpentine or benzine is the 
liquid. 

When a varnish is mixed with white lead or other pig- 
ments you produce an enamel which will dry with a 
gloss unless you have used flat varnish, and in that event 
it will dry semi-flat. 

Japan drier mixed with white lead or other paint 
pigments in the small quantities which are proper and 
in connection with raw linseed’ oil will not influence the 
film noticeably toward drying gloss or flat. If, how- 
ever, a japan drier is used which has not sufficient 
strength, excessive quantities will be put into the paint 
and then the gloss will be increased. When mixing flat 
paints it is especially necessary to use the least possible 
amount of drier when it is necessary to use it at all. As 
a rule, drier is used only with raw linseed oil and it is 
used in greater amount with paint having rather large 
quantities of slow drying colors lke lamp black and 
chrome green. 


PURE WHITE LEAD 


In this basic paint pigment we have one of the oldest 
materials and one which has been the mainstay of 
paints for over 200 years. Its virtues are many and 
for that reason practically all high class paints, 
whether made in a factory or in the painter’s shop, 
contain a very large percentage of white lead. This 
is true, of course, only of white and light colored paints 





: 
| 


PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 147 


used for exterior surfaces. The very dark browns, reds, 
and blacks may have no lead in them at all. 

The distinguishing qualities of white lead are that it 
is the most opaque white pigment of proven durability 
for exterior surfaces. It hides the surface very well, 
works easily under the brush and is very stable chemi- 
cally with linseed oil, turpentine, driers and most tint- 
ing colors. When a job of white lead painting wears 
out the surface is usually in perfect condition for re- 
painting without any expensive burning and scraping 
off of cracked and scaled paint. Lithopone and titan- 
ium oxide are fully as opaque, but lithopone is used 
only for interior flat wall paints, enamel undercoaters, 
ete., and titanium oxide aione chalks off excessively 
when used for exterior surfaces. In combination with 
zine it is much more serviceable. 

White lead is made by treating lead metal with car- 
bonic acid gas and acetic acid. This combination 
changes the lead metal to a soft white very fine powder. 
This dry lead powder is mixed with pure linseed oil 
in the proportion of about 8 per cent of oil to 92 per 
cént of lead to form the paste which the painter re- 
ceives. 

The one weakness of white lead as a paint is that 
white paint mixed from it and used on some surfaces 
under certain conditions may chalk off a bit too soon. 
This chalking or dusting off of the pigment is retarded 
considerably when colors are mixed with such paint, 
and chalking may be retarded in white paint by the 
addition of from 10 to 15 per cent zine oxide to the 
lead. The zine should be mixed only in the second and 
third coat, never in the prime coat. 

A perfect paint, if there were such, would be a film of 
paint which was hard enough to avoid chalking excess- 
ively, or prematurely, and yet soft and elastic enough 
to avoid cracking and scaling. It is obvious that a paint 
which chalks is preferable to one which cracks and 











148 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


seales. Chalking paint is a good foundation for new 
coats, whereas cracked and scaled paint usually must be 
removed by burning and scraping. 

White lead is made by many manufacturers and by 
different processes for the control and speed of manu- 
facture. All processes, of course, use the same elements 
—lead, metal, acetic acid and earbonie acid gas. The 
differences between the brands of white lead are not 
great and they consist principally of superior whiteness, 
fineness and hiding capacity. 


MIXING METHODS FOR WHITE LEAD 


White lead is marketed to the painter chiefly in the 
form of a thick paste made up of 8 per cent of pure raw 
linseed oil and 92 per cent of white lead. It may be pur- 
chased in tubes and in 1, 3 and 5 lb. press top cans; it is 
sold also in steel kegs which hold 1214, 25, 50 and 100 
Ibs. each net; it is, likewise, marketed in wood casks 
weighing 300 lbs. and 500 lbs. A 100-lb. keg of white 
lead bulks 2.85 gallons. Dry white lead is marketed but 
is not much used by the painter except for making putty. 
Most of the dry white lead marketed is sold to manu- 
facturers of prepared paints. 

The proper mixing of any paint has a much greater 
influence upon the success of that paint than is ap- 
parent on first thought. No matter how finely ground 
white lead, zinc or prepared paint may be from the 
factory process, they will not work as freely under the 
brush, spread as far, or hide the surface as well when 
carelessly mixed as when a careful job of mixing has 
been done. It is not more difficult to do a good job of 
mixing than a poor one. It is the method of procedure 
which counts the most. It is well to remember that 
lumps of paint can be broken up much more easily when 
only part of the oil or turpentine has been added than 
when all of the liquid is poured into the container with 
all of the pigment. 





PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 149 


Breaking Up White Lead Paste-——If you are mixing 
only two or three gallons of paint, take an empty, clean 
100-lb. white lead keg and place in it all of the white 
lead paste you will need for the batch. Next pour in 
only about a quart of linseed oil or turpentine. Stir 
the lead paste until all the liquid has been taken up by 
it. Now add another pint or quart of liquid and stir 
that in until it disappears. The time to do the most ef- 
fective mixing is when you have put into a keg about 
one half of the oil needed. The paint in this state can 
be stirred readily and the lumps broken up, whereas 
if you added all the oil at once you would find lumps 
of pigment swimming around in the oil and dodging 
your paddle with the result that you would work harder, 
take a longer time and even then not do as good a job 
of mixing as if a small amount of oil is put in from 
time to time. ; 

When about half of the oil has been mixed in add 
your turpentine and also the japan drier if raw oil 
is used, 

The tinting colors, if any are to be used, should. be 
mixed separately with oil or turpentine and may be 
added to the white lead paste before or after the final 
thinning with oil. 

This procedure described for the mixing of white 
lead paste with liquids should be followed in the mixing 
ofs any paste with liquids—zine, red lead, colors, ete. 
When it comes to mixing a dry pigment like dry white 
lead or zine with liquids it is better to reverse the op- 
eration by putting part of the oil in the keg first and 
adding the dry pigment to the liquid, stirring the paint 
all the while. 

Straining the Paint.—After the most thorough job 
of mixing has been done with white lead zine or color 
pigments it will be found that if the mixture is allowed 
to stand over night™or longer it will be thicker than 
when you finish the mixing and you can add more 

















150 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


liquid to it. Straining the paint is a considerable ad- 
vantage whether paint is allowed to stand for some 
time, or whether it must be used immediately, because 
by straining you not only remove any skins, sediment, 
wood splinters or metal scales, but you break up the 
paint pigment into finer particles and incorporate the 
liquid more thoroughly. Straining enables you to add 
more liquid, it makes the paint brush out more freely 
and hides the surface better. 

The straining operation is simple. If you are sure 
that the pigment is clean it is necessary only to strain 
it. through fly screen. Paint used for finer interior 
jobs should be strained through a metal screen which 
is much finer than fly screen or through a single or 
double thickness of cheese cloth which has been tied 
over the top of the paint pot. The paint should have 
all of the liquid mixed into it before straining as it 
will then go through the strainer with greater freedom. 
It will take time to do a job of straining and painters 
who are young in experience are impatient about this 
work because it may seem to be useless. The time is 
well spent, however. 

Adding Tinting Colors——After your batch of white 
lead or other white pigments has been properly mixed 
with linseed oil and turpentine the tinting colors should 
be added. Use tinting colors ground in oil to paste form 
rather than dry colors, japan colors or distemper colors. 
The color paste should be mixed with a little linseed 
oil or turpentine in a clean pot and when thoroughly 
broken up the color should be strained into the white 
paint through cheese cloth, or fine metal screen. When 
tinting paint to match samples add your color cau- 
tiously. Each batch of color added to the white should 
be stirred thoroughly and the paint should be tested 
by brushing a little of it out on a board. The color of 
paint always looks darker in the pot than when brushed 
out. If you note little streaks of darker color when 





PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 151 


the paint is brushed out, that is a sure sign that you 
have not mixed the color thoroughly into the white 
paint. 

If you have added too much color to your white paint 
it will take considerably more white to lighten up the 
color, and when you get through you will have quite a 
little more paint than you need. 

Dry colors are used by the painter mostly for the 
tinting of white in the mixing of calcimine and for tint- 
ing putty to the proper color to match woodwork. If 
it becomes necessary to use dry color for tinting paint 
in an emergency the dry color should be thoroughly 
rubbed out and mixed with a little oil on a board, stone 
or piece of glass using a flat wood paddle or putty knife 
to thoroughly work the oil into the color. Strain the 
color through a double thickness of cheese cloth to re- 
move any grit or coarse color particles. 

Quantities of Lead and Liquids Needed.—It is not 
possible to state an exact formula for mixing a gallon of 
paint which will be suitable for use on all kinds of sur- 
faces, such as wood, plaster, brick, cement and metals. 

It is obvious that some surfaces are more porous and 
absorbant than others,—that when mixing paint to be 
spread on to such dry and porous woods as white 
pine, cedar shingles, poplar and fir, your paint will 
require a larger proportion of oil than when you are 
mixing paint to be spread upon well filled surfaces like 
yellow pine or cypress, both of which have pores that 
are saturated with resin or other oil substances. When 
mixing paint for the latter group of woods, and for all 
non-porous surfaces, more turpentine and less oil are 
needed. 

Another consideration which governs the proportions 
of oil and turpentine to be added to basic paint pig- 
ments, or color pigments, is that which concerns the 
amount of gloss wanted on the paint. For exterior sur- 
faces, as a rule, the more gloss you can produce the 

















152 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


better, which means that you want to use as large a 
proportion of oil as possible. 

When a semi-gloss or a dead flat finish is wanted for 
interior painting, it may be secured by using less oil 
and more turpentine, or by using what are called fiat- 
ting oils in place of linseed oil. The flatting oils are 
useful for interior surfaces only. 

The mixing formulas for white paint which follow at 
the end of this section give quantities of lead, oil, tur- 
pentine and drier needed for new and old exterior 
and interior surfaces. They are as accurate as they can 
be made for average conditions. The paint mixer must, 
however, size up the surface to be coated and mix his 
paint accordingly. 

The best way to determine whether your paint is 
mixed too thick or too thin, is to dip a brush into it 
and spread a little of the paint onto the surface to 
be coated. If the surface is a very dark color, your 
paint must be mixed thicker, or stouter, than if you 
are painting on top of a white or lght-colored sur- 
face. Dark colors may be mixed thinner and will or- 
dinarily be brushed out to a greater extent than white 
paints, and still they will hide the surface well. 

The condition of an old painted surface is a factor 
which will govern to some extent the amount of oil 
put into a new batch of paint to be used on such 
a surface. If the old paint is quite hard and the sur- 
face well filled, it will absorb less oil than if the old 
paint is chalking badly and, consequently, is quite 
porous. 

Other points which should be kept in mind about the 
quantities of oil and turpentine needed in paint mixing 
are that you will find some slight variations in the thin- 
ning qualities of the different brands of linseed oil, 
depending upon what manufacturers made it and from 
which of the world’s markets the flaxseed came. The 
white lead which has been mixed with part of the ln- 


PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 153 


seed oil a day or two before the final thinning will be 
found to absorb more oil than when freshly mixed. 
In other words, you may mix a batch of lead paint 
today and thin it down to what seems to be the correct 
brushing consistency, but if you allow it to stand a day 
or so it will be too thick and you must add more oil. 

Less turpentine than linseed oil is needed to thin 100 
pounds of white lead to brushing consistency. For in- 
stance, 100 pounds of white lead mixed for new outside 
work will take up 314 to 4 gallons of linseed oil and 1 
gallon of turpentine before it is thin enough for a dry 
and porous surface, while the same amount of lead 
will take up only about 214 or 3 gallons of turpentine 
to bring it to brushing consistency. 

In the mixing formulas which follow, raw linseed 
oil is specified. When a brand of high-class boiled 
linseed oil can be secured it is better to substitute 
boiled oil for raw in all these formulas and eliminate 
the drier. 

The modern thought concerning the best quantities 
of oil and turpentine to use with white lead was well 
expressed by Robert L. Hallett, chemist for the National 
Lead Company, as follows: 

‘*A slight reduction of the oil in the paint produces 
a paint film which still has a very satisfactory gloss, 
has even greater durability and is sufficiently hard to 
prevent the adherence of the dirt which is blown 
against it, although still elastic enough to prevent crack- 
ing and scaling. By hardening the paint film in this 
way a remarkable improvement in permanent appear- 
ance is secured without any detriment to the paint in 
durability or working qualities or any of the other 
characteristics. A reduction in the oil results in paint 
having greater hiding power, which is a marked advan- 
tage, and the permanent good appearance .and freedom 
from discoloration have proven a great satisfaction to 
those who have adopted this practice. If the oil reduc- 


a 


154 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


tion produces a paint which is too thick to be readily 
applied with a brush, a slight amount of turpentine 
may be added to take the place of the oil and give any 
desired consistency. 

‘This discussion does not so much refer to the prim- 
ing coat applied on new lumber, concrete, brick or 
stueco, because the priming coat must be so designed 
as to have sufficient oil to fill the pores of the material 
which is to be painted and furnish a firm foundation 
for the subsequent coats. 

‘‘The oil reduction begins with the body coat, which 
must be fairly hard to furnish a firm support for the 
finishing coat. Long experience has shown that paste 
white lead should be reduced with a mixture of about 
half oil and half turpentine for the body coat to give 
the best results. 

‘‘Perhaps the greatest difference of opinion is in 
connection with the finishing coat, where we find 
painters using all the way from three to five gallons 
of linseed oil to 100 pounds of paste white lead. Five 
gallons of linseed oil, or even four gallons of linseed oil, 
iS an excessive amount, and, while the preliminary gloss 
obtained with such paint may be fairly high, the gloss 
is lost within a comparatively short time and the paint 
is so soft that it may become discolored by dirt blown 
against it. If the amount of the oil is reduced to three 
and a half gallons, three and a quarter gallons or, in 
exceptional cases, even three gallons to 100 pounds of 
paste white lead, the results are markedly improved, 
and it has been the universal experience that painters 
who have conscientiously tried out this practice have 
been well pleased with it and it has been a great satis- 
faction to them to realize that one more bit of knowl- 
edge has been added to paint technology and the master 
painter has been given the means whereby he ean readily 
correct the dirt discoloration which he may have en- 
countered in some places. 





PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 155 


““Tt is sometimes difficult to make sure that the man 
who actually mixes the paint follows any definite for- 
mula, because necessary measuring containers are not 
always available when they are needed. There is a 
very simple method of overcoming this practical dif- 
ficulty, which is to reduce the paste white lead for the 
body coat with a mixture of half oil and half turpen- 
tine, and reduce the paste white lead for the finishing 
eoat with a mixture of linseed oil to which turpentine 
has been added at the ratio of from one to two pints to 
each three gallons of linseed oil. If this practice is 
followed the desired formulas are more or less auto- 
matically secured, because when this thinner mixture 
is used for reducing the paste white lead it will not be 
possible to add an excess of oil without obtaining paint 
which is too thin to be of brushing consistency. It 
has been found that white lead paint containing these 
smaller proportions of linseed oil is not lacking in 
durability, and while the original gloss may not be 
quite as high as when more oil is used, the gloss will last 
longer and the paint will have better appearance and 
give greater satisfaction throughout a reasonable life- 
time. We know that a coat of linseed oil is not very 
durable in itself, and when exposed to the weather 
becomes destroyed within a comparatively short time. 

‘‘The white lead pigment itself is, of course, not a 
paint, but we realize that a mixture of white lead pig- 
ment and linseed oil together form a very much more 
durable coating than either the oil or the pigment alone ; 
in other words, it requires the oil or binder to cement 
the particles of pigment together and produce a paint 
film, but it also requires the particles of pigment to in- 
erease the weather resistance of the paint film and 
give greater durability. The only question which can 
arise is, therefore, what is the optimum mixture of lin- 
seed oil and white lead which will give the greatest dura- 
bility and best results.’’ 


156 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 
STANDARD FORMULAS FOR WHITE PAINT 
NEW OUTSIDE WOODWORK 
First Coat 


100 Ibs. pure white lead 

4 gal. pure raw linseed oil 

1 gal. pure turpentine 

1 pt. japan drier 

Makes akout 734 gal. of paint 


Second Coat 


100 Ibs. pure white lead 
114 gal. pure raw linseed oil 
114 gal. pure turpentine 
1 pt. japan drier 

- Makes about 6 gal. of paint 


Third Coat 


100 lbs. white lead 

314 to 415 gal. pure raw linseed oil 
1 pt. pure turpentine 

1 pt. japan drier : 
Makes 614 to 714 gal. of paint 





On the sea coast, where paint is subjected to salt air 
and hard, driving rains, some painters add from 10 to 
15 per cent of zine oxide to the last coat only. 


OLD OUTSIDE WOODWORK 
First Coat 


100 lbs. pure white lead 

2 gal. pure raw linseed oil 
2 gal. pure turpentine 

1 pt. Japan drier 

Makes about 7 gal. of paint 


PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 157 


Second Coat 


100 lbs. pure white lead 

3 gal. pure raw linseed oil 

1% gal. pure turpentine 

1 pt. Japan drier 

Makes about 614 gal. of paint 


Third Coat 


100 Ibs. pure white lead 

34% to 41% gal. pure raw linseed oil 
1 pt. pure turpentine 

1 pt. japan drier 

Makes 61% to 714 gal. of paint 


For two-coat jobs simply omit the second coat above. 
On weather-beaten and very dry surfaces use more oil 
and less turpentine in the first coat. 


BRICK, STUCCO, CONCRETE SURFACES 
First Coat 


100 lbs. white lead 

4 gal. pure boiled linseed oil 
1 gal. turpentine 

Makes about 734 gal. of paint 


Second Coat 


100 Ibs. white lead 

4 gal. pure boiled linseed oil 
1 gal. turpentine 

Makes about 634 gal. of paint 


Third Coat 


Same as for new outside woodwork. 


Before painting new plaster or cement walls which 
have not been allowed to age more than 30 days, the 
causticity of the surface should be neutralized, or it 
may burn out the life of the oil in spots. Active alkali 


158 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


spots will change the color of some paints, notably tints 
and shades mixed from chrome yellow. A wash com- 
posed of four pounds of zine sulphate crystals dis- 
solved in one gallon of water should be brushed onto 
this surface. When the surface is dry brush off any 
loose particles with a broom before painting. 

Extra Drier Needed.—Under certain weather condi- 
tions—on cold, damp winter days and during humid 
days in the middle of the summer—it is sometimes dif- 
ficult to mix your paint so that it will dry as rapidly 
as it should. During such weather additional japan 
drier to the extent of about 14 to 1% pint should be 
added to 100 pounds of lead when raw oil is used. It 
is not often necessary to add any drier to boiled linseed 
oil, but there are some extreme conditions where a little 
is needed. During difficult drying weather a little 
extra turpentine will accelerate the drying. 

When using slow drying color pigments such as 
lampblack, chrome yellow, chrome green and ordinary 
yellow ochre in considerable quantities to make dark- 
colored paints, additional turpentine and drier are 
needed. 

How Much Paint from a Mix?—In order to deter- 
mine the number of gallons of paint which you will 
have as a result of mixing white pigment, color pig- 
ment and liquids together calculate with the following 
facts. It is necessary only to add together the bulking 
values of each ingredient. 

One hundred pounds of white lead in paste form, 
as it comes to the painters, bulks approximately 2.85 
gallons, which is a little more than 234 gallons. There- 
fore, if in the mixing of 100 pounds of lead you use 
4 gallons of linseed oil, 1 gallon of turpentine, 1 pint of 
japan drier, you will have a bulk of approximately 8 
gallons of white paint. The amount of tinting color 
added usually is not enough to materially increase the 
amount of paint, although if the color mixed is quite 





PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 159 


dark you must take into consideration the bulk of the 
tinting color too. The following tabulation will be of 
assistanee to you in calculating the amount of material 
mixed from a batch of paint: 


Per cent of Per cent Bulking 


Maye (hs COLOR pigment in of oilin values in 
paste paste gallons 
Venetian Red (40% FeO). 78 22 
CORT i 78 2 4.7 
so rr 70 30 6.8 
Tepe a... see 55 45 7.8 
Pepeeemienna .........-: ao 45 (ie 
Peewee? ..........4.. 54. 46 8.3 
PE WET, os. as a /e o's 54. 46 7.6 
Peeper sTOwn .... 2.5. 75 25 5.9 
Peteeet ae ed oe... cs. 30 70 13 
Piitramearive bine’ ........ 65 30 7.8 
Pree ere,.'. sy ss 43 57 10.1 
eam 6. ees se 20 80 2 a 
bossa) 80.) ih era 50 50 8.7 
C. P. Green (average) .... 77 23 5.0 
C. P. Yellow (average) ... 80 20 4.2 
20% Green (Barytes base) 88 12 3.9 
20% Yellow (Barytes base) 85 ie 4.1 
10% Para Red (Lime and 
Barytes base) ......... 82 18 6.0 
ny a a a ae 94 6 2.13 
(000 sie ns 80 20 4.8 
Basic Sulphate White Lead 91 9 2.86 
Basie Carbonate White Lead 92 8 2.85 
PUICMTINICIE og ccs ks ce os 82 18 4.05 
Titanium Pigment BXX .. 80 20 4.6 


The Amount of Paint in Pounds.—In calculating 
the weight of the paint in pounds you must follow the 
same procedure by simply adding to 100 pounds of 


160 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


white lead the number of pounds of oil, turpentine and 
color mixed into the batch. <A gallon of linseed oil 
weighs approximately 734 lIbs.; a gallon of turpentine 
weighs approximately 634 pounds. A gallon of japan 
drier will vary considerably depending upon the com- 
position of the drier. When you have added all these 
weights together divide the result by the number of 
gallons produced and you will have the weight per 
gallon. White lead paint, as a rule, weighs from 20 to 
22 pounds per gallon. Prepared paints weigh from 14 
to 15 pounds per gallon. The weight per gallon of 
paint, however, is not necessarily an indication of its 
quality. 


ZINC OXIDE 


From zine ore mined in America, Europe and the 
Orient zinc metal is smelted. Although zine oxide, the 
white paint pigment, is of modern origin, zine metal is 
very ancient; the Chinese smelted ores and made zine 
metal slabs 2000 years ago. 

Zine oxide paint pigment is made by two processes; 
one, the French, or indirect method, converts zine ore 
into zine metal by smelting and then converts zine metal 
into zine oxide by combustion. The zine metal is melted 
in a crucible and as the heat is continued a vapor is 
drawn off through long flues. When this vapor comes 
in contact with more air it flames up and forms a very 
fine white powder—zine oxide—which is collected in 
cloth sacks of special construction. This powder after 
being graded by fine screens is mixed with linseed oil 
and the paste is ready for the painter. 

The American process for producing zine is the same 
in principle but differs in method of application. The 
zine ore 1s burned directly without first smelting it 
into zine metal. The ore is mixed with fine coal and 





' 
i 
| 
i 
4 
k 
f 


A 


oo. era a ae © 


PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 161 


burned in furnaces. <A great deal more zine is made 
by the American process than by the French process. 

Zine oxide is a combination of one atom of zine 
metal with one atom of oxygen. Zine oxide has been 
considered the finest in texture of all white pigments 
and the best qualities of zine are the whitest of all white 
paint pigments. 

This pigment, being so very fine in texture, is also 
very bulky. One pound of dry zine fills a space about 
three times larger than is filled by a pound of dry 
white lead. The consequence of this great fineness and 
bulk is that zine oxide absorbs more oil than white lead 
when it is mixed to brushing consistency. 

Usually zine oxide is ground with linseed oil in the 
proportion of from 15 per cent to 19 per cent of oil 
to 85 per cent or 81 per cent of pigment; while white 
lead is ground in the proportion of 8 per cent of lin- 
seed oil to 92 per cent of pigment. 

One hundred pounds of zine oxide paste bulks 41% 
gallons; while one hundred pounds of white lead bulks 
2.85 gallons—or a little more than 234 gallons. 

These differences in proportions of oil and pigments 
and in bulk values must be kept in mind when mixing 
paints and enamels using these pigments. More oil is 
needed to thin 100 lbs. of zine to brushing consistency 
than is needed to reduce 100 lbs. of white lead to the 
same brushing consistency. 

And again, because of these differences you cannot, 
for instance, mix a paint in the proportion of 20 per 
cent zine to 80 per cent white lead by mixing 20 pounds 
of zine oxide with 80 pounds of white lead paste. To 
mix paint having a pigment content of 20 per cent zine 
and 80 per cent white lead, you must mix together 
22 pounds of zine and 78 pounds of white lead. The 
following table will serve you as a ready reference 


162 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


for mixing the correct proportions of lead and zine: 


PROPORTION WANTED 


Zine White Use Zine Use White 
Oxide Lead Oxide Lead 
5% 95% | 6 Ibs. 94 lbs. 
10% 90% 11 lbs. 89 Ibs. 
15% 85% 17 Ibs. 83. Ibs. 
20% 80% 22 Ibs. 78 lbs. 
29% 75% 27 Ibs. 73 Ibs. 
30% 70% 33. Ibs. 67 lbs. 
39% 65% 38 Ibs. 62 lbs. 
40% 60% 43 lbs. 57 lbs. 
45% 59% 48 lbs. 52 Ibs. 
00% 50% 53 Ibs. 47 lbs. 
55% 45% 58 lbs. 42 Ibs. 
60% 40% 63 lbs. 37 lbs. 
65% 35% 68 Ibs. 32 lbs. 
70% 30% 73 Abe 27 Ibs. 
75% 25% 77 Ibs. - 23 Ibs. 
80% 20% 82 Ibs. 18 lbs. 
85% 15% 87 Ibs. 13 lbs. 
90% 10% 91 Ibs. 9 Ibs. 
95% 5% 96 lbs. 4 Ibs. 


Use zine oxide ground in oil paste and white lead 
ground in oil paste, to make these batches of 100 lbs. 
of mixed pastes. 

Zine oxide is a harder white pigment than white 
lead. Along with its many virtues, zine possesses one 
defect considered as a paint niguienteey is rather 
too hard and inelastic to be used alone with linseed oil as 
an exterior paint. It is too hard and brittle to expand 
and contract sufficiently with the wood or other sur- 
faces during temperature changes. Such paint would 
crack and scale off, but when mixed with lead in the 
correct proportions, zine makes good paint. Its hard- 
ness is balanced by the softness of the lead and the de- 





PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 163 


fect of lead—being too soft—is balanced by the merit 
of zine. 

Zine is chemically stable and mixable with other 
pigments, oils and colors. It is not affected by gases 
in the air. 

Zine is used, as such, by painters principally for 
enamels and enamel undercoatings where it produces 
a fine, hard surface. It is also mixed with white lead 
in the proportions of 15 per cent to 20 per cent in 
the finishing coat only for making a harder wearing 
surface on exterior white paints to overcome excessive 
chalking, 

The best method for use in breaking-up and mixing 
zine paste with oil is that described in this chapter 
for breaking-up white lead. 

When mixing lead and zine, break up your two pig- 
ments separately reducing each to brushing consistency 
with linseed oil, then pour one batch of paint into 
the other. Pour the paint mixture back and forth 
from one pot to the other several times and stir well 
with a mixing paddle to assure thorough mixing. 

Necessary turpentine and japan drier may now be 
mixed into the paint. Tinting colors in oil paste 
form should be thinned enough to break up the lumps 
before being mixed into the paint. Then when all 
ingredients have been mixed together stir the paint 
well and strain it as described in this chapter for white 
lead paint and for the same reasons. 

Use of zine for interior paints may be made without 
thought of durability as to cracking and sealing. For 
enamels, enamel undercoaters and wall paints, zinc may 
be freely used wherever its virtues are needed. Good 
painters commonly agree that for exterior white paint, 
and in the last coat only, from 15 per cent to 20 per 
cent of zine with 85 per cent or 80 per cent of lead 
makes the best proportions to overcome any tendency 
of the lead to chalk off. 


164 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Zine is marketed in 1214, 25, 50 and 100 pound steel 
kegs and in tubes for artists and decorators. 

Floor Paints.—Porch floors exposed to the weather 
are usually painted for protection and to improve ap- 
pearances. A serviceable job of floor painting begins 
before the painter is called to the job. In the first 
place, construction of the floor should be such as will 
allow ample ventilation, at least one hole should be 
placed so the moisture from the ground can escape. 
This isn’t necessary, of course, when the area under the 
porch opens into a warm basement. 

One quality which floor paints must possess is the 
ability to dry hard and form a tough coating. The 
erinding wear of heels and furniture soon destroys soft 
paints, yet if the paint is too hard and brittle it will 
erack and scale off. There are on the market a number 
of brands of factory-made prepared floor paints which 
give good service. In using them it is simply necessary 
to mix these paints thoroughly according to manufac- 
turers’ directions. 

When floor paint is to be mixed by the painter, his 
proportions using white lead and zine are as follows 
for new floors which are usually yellow pine well filled 
with sap: 

First Coat 


25 lbs. white lead 

714 pts. turpentine 

214, pts. boiled linseed oil 

Tinting colors 

Makes about 2 gal. of paint 
Second Coat 

184 lbs. white lead 

614 lbs. zine oxide 

3/4, gal. turpentine 

Tinting colors 

Makes about 114 gal. of paint 





a 
K 


PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 165 


Representing the proportion of 34 lead and 14 zine 
approximately 


Third Coat 


1834 lbs. white lead 

614 lbs. zine oxide 

3 qts. boiled linseed oil 

1 qt. floor or spar varnish 

ty pt. turpentine 

Tinting colors 

Mix the varnish and turpentine together before add- 
ing to the paint. 

Makes about 134 gal. of paint 


For repainting old exterior porch floors use only the ° 
second and third coats as specified for new floors. The 
eracks should be cleaned out first and filled with putty 
made with white lead, dry whiting and linseed oil. 

In the mixing of floor paints your aim should be that 
of producing a paint film which will dry hard—a tough 
film into which dirt will not lodge, one which can be 
washed clean and one which will withstand the grind- 
ing wear of many feet and the scraping of furniture. 

Enclosed porch floors ought, of course, to be painted 
like any interior floors. The first and second coats 
specified for new exterior floors are suitable for new 
interior floors. The third coat should be clear floor 
varnish which when dry may be waxed and polished. 
Old interior floors may well receive the second coat as 
specified for exterior floors, a clear varnish coat and the 
wax which may be polished. 

Mixing Putty.—A great deal of the putty sold as 
commercial grade material is not good for painters’ 
needs. Much of such material is marble dust and min- 
eral or fish oil, making a putty too brittle to remain 
long where you put it. 

The best putty for exterior surfaces is made by mix- 
ing dry bolted whiting with white lead in oil paste. 


166 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Add dry color to tint it to the color wanted. Small 
amounts may be mixed and kneaded by hand. Large 
batches may be placed on a stone mixing slab or board 
and pounded with a mallet or a club. When the putty 
gets too stiff a very little linseed oil may be added. If 
a little varnish—spar or floor—is added the putty will 
dry even harder. Lead and whiting putty will stick 
tightly where you put it and is good for all manner of 
exterior work on wood and for setting glass into win- 
dows and doors. <A coat of paint should always be 
put on before the putty. 

For setting glass in steel sash the best putty may be 
made from dry red lead, white lead in oil paste and 
dry litharge, using a little linseed oil for a binder. 

Mixing Whitewash.—Whitewash deserves a more ex- 
tensive use than it enjoys at present because it is an 
inexpensive, Sanitary and light reflecting paint. For 
some purposes it is even better than other paints. 
Painters can find much employment coating basement 
interiors, stables and other buildings with whitewash 
when the weather prevents outside painting. In warm 
and dry climates whitewash coatings are also used on 
exterior surfaces to some extent. It may be used on 
wood, brick, plaster or stone surfaces. 

There are many formulas for mixing whitewash. 
Some are better than others for some purposes. The 
following formulas will serve every purpose. 


Interior Whitewash 


1 bushel (62 lbs.) Lime in lump form unslaked— 
quicklime. Air-slaked lime is not as good. 

15 gallons water. Put in a barrel with the lime 
and stir occasionally to prevent scorching. 
_ 21% pounds rye flour. Mix the flour with 14 gallon 
of cold water, then add 2 gallons of boiling water. 

214 pounds rock salt. Dissolve the salt in 214 gallons 
of hot water. 





_ PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 167 


Mix the flour paste with the salt water solution and 
then add the mixture to the lime and water in the 
barrel. Let stand over night and strain. The above 
whitewash is much used in factory buildings, ware- 
houses, ete. 


Exterior Whitewash 
(Weatherproof ) 


1 bushel (62 lbs.) lime lumps (quicklime). 

12 gallons of water. Put lime and water in a barrel 
and cover top of barrel. 

2 pounds table salt and 1 pound dry sulphate of zine. 
Dissolve the salt and zine in 2 gallons of boiling water. 

2 gallons skimmed milk. 

Mix the salt solution into the lime and water, then 
add the milk and stir the whole batch well. Let the 
mixture stand over night if possible and strain it 
through fly screen before applying to a surface with a 
wide brush or a spray gun. 

Y% bushel lump lime slaked in boiling hot water, keep 
covered to retain steam. Air slaked lime is not as good. 

Common practice is to add cold water a little at a 
time until lime crumbles up into a soft paste. Then stir 
and add more water until the lime cools down indicat- 
ing that it will absorb no more water—it is completely 
Slaked. Hot water hastens this process. 

Next thin with water to brushing consistency and 
strain to remove lumps and dirt. 

1 peck of salt—(15 Ibs.) which has been dissolved 
in hot water. | 

3 pounds rice boiled in water to a thin paste; strain 
it and add to the lime and salt mixture while hot. 

1 lb. of good glue soaked in cold water over night. 
Pour off excess water and add 3 quarts of boiling 
water and stir well. Then add 14 pound of dry whiting 
to the glue. Now add this glue and whiting mixture 
to the lime, salt and rice mixture. Add about 5 gallons 


168 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


of hot water and stir the whitewash well, cover up and 
let stand a few days. Apply the whitewash hot for 
best results with a wide brush or spray gun. 


Inghthouse Whitewash 


1 bushel (62 lbs.) quicklime lumps 

12 gallons hot water 

12 pounds rock salt dissolved in 6 gallons of water 
6 pounds Portland cement 


Mix the lime and water in a barrel and stir until 
the lumps are broken up and the mixture is cool. Add 
the salt solution, then add the cement. 


To prevent whitewash from rubbing or dusting off 
add one ounce of alum to each gallon of whitewash. The 
flour paste in the above formulas serves the same pur- 
pose but a little sulphate of zine is necessary to preserve 
the flour from decay. 

Some people like to add 1 pint of molasses to 5 
gallons of whitewash, believing that the lime is then 
more soluble and that such whitewash anchors more 
firmly to the surface. 

When silicate of soda (85 degrees Baume) water is 
added to whitewash in the proportion of 1 pound of soda 
to 10 pounds of whitewash a fireproof coating is ob- 
tained. 

A gloss surface may be put onto a whitewash coating 
by mixing with the whitewash 1 pound of yellow 
laundry soap. 

When a damp basement or other damp interior is to 
be whitewashed the formulas containing glue, flour or 
milk are not as good as whitewash made without these 
ingredients. Such organic matter may decompose, dis- 
coloring the surface and perhaps giving off an unpleas- 
ant odor. 

The appleation of whitewash whether done with a 
brush or spray machine should aim to put as much ma- 








PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 169 


terial on the surface as will remain there without run- 
ning off. No attempt should be made to stretch out such 
mixture as is necessary with oil paint. 

All whitewash mixtures gain a greater anchorage on 
the surface and are more serviceable When put on hot. 
The most practical equipment for such work is a port- 
able kettle like a stock food cooker or similar to tar 
kettles on wheels used by roofers. 

Colored Whitewash—Any of the whitewashes may 
be colored with limeproof or mortar colors made for 
tinting brick mortar, concrete and cement surfaces. 
Painter’s dry colors such as yellow ochre, Venetian red, 
lampblack, raw and burnt umber, raw and burnt sienna 
may be added to whitewash to make light tints and 
Shades. It is not wise to mix dark colors in this manner 
because so large a percentage of color must be used that 
the durability or adhesive ability of the paint may be 
impaired. Chrome yellow, chrome green and Prussian 
blue must not be used with whitewash since they are ad- 
versely affected by alkali. 

“Paint for Weather-beaten Surface.—Oceasionally a 
painter is called upon to paint a building which has 
stood in the weather for years. The joints, nail holes, 
cracks and even the pores of the lumber have opened up 
wide. Such a surface will absorb an unbelieveable 
amount of paint mixed in the ordinary manner, 

The problem is to fill up such a surface and stop 
suction to make a good appearance, and in doing so a 
good foundation for the finishing coats must be made, 
a foundation which will firmly anchor itself and avoid 
cracking and scaling later on. Many methods are of- 
fered for such work but most of them have serious 
defects, principally that they are only temporary and 
offer an insecure foundation and one which will not 
avoid scaling off. 

Because so much paint is required by such a surface 
—it usually soaks up paint like a sponge—the search is 


«170 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


for a cheap paint. That would be logical if it were not 
for the fact that the coat of paint next to the wood is 
the most important of all, it is the very foundation of 
the job. If cheap paint is to be used, far better to put 
it on last, not first. 

Some painters go to the extreme of soaking such a 
dry weather-beaten surface with water, using a garden 
hose. Thus the wood is swelled enough to close the pores 
temporarily while the paint is put on. Then there is 
a risk of having the sun draw the water out and blister- 
ing the paint. And, of course, as soon as all the water 
drys out of the wood the pores and cracks open up 
again. It is a bad method. 

Undoubtedly the best way to paint such a surface is 
by spreading on a second coat of paint mixed this way: 


50 lbs. white lead 

50 lbs. bolted whiting 

3 to 4 gal. boiled linseed oil 
1, gal. turpentine 
-Tinting colors 


This paint should be mixed as thick as is necessary 
to fill the pores and yet it must be thin enough to brush 
out. Such a paint is in reality a thin putty, just such 
as is used for holding glass in place on window sash. 
If you ever had to dig such putty off of old window 
sash you’ll remember that it took a sharp chisel to do 
it. So there is no doubt that such paint will attach 
itself firmly to the weather-beaten wood which, of course, 
offers more opportunity for anchorage. But on the 
other hand, if this paint were put on to pitch pine or 
any other wood filled with sap or gum there is just as 
much certainty that it would crack and scale off. 
Again, we see that paint must fit the surface it is to 
protect and decorate. 

Paint so mixed is cheaper somewhat than usual be- 
cause the whiting costs less than lead or zine. It should, 





PAINTER-MIXED HOUSE PAINTS 171 


however, be used only on the second coat. The first 
coat, and the third when put on, should be mixed as 
usual. 

Keeping White Lead in Good Condition—To keep 
white. lead paste in good condition after the keg has 
been opened and some of the contents used, simply cover 
the remaining lead with water. Carefully scrape the 
lead off the sides of the keg first, however. Before using 
the lead again, pour off all the water. 





CHAPTER Wai 
TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 


A stupy of this subject may approach the many 
eolors used by the painter and decorator from various 
angles. The subject is, indeed, a large one, but the 
author believes that the purposes for which this book 
is written will be best served if the colors commonly 
used are simply enumerated and described as to uses 
rather than as to composition, origin and chemical 
characteristics. 

The subject of tinting colors was considered at length 
in the book ‘‘The Mixing of Colors and Paints’’ by the 
author. In that work various colors were grouped and 
described as earth colors, chemical colors, aniline and 
coal tar colors, lake colors, vegetable colors, animal 
colors and metallic bronze colors.” Color pigments were 
further grouped according to color hues and a full de- 
scription of the characteristics of each color was given. 

The list of colors used by interior decorators and by 
artists includes a great many color pigments which are 
not commonly used for exterior painting purposes. 
Many of these colors lack permanency in strong light; 
although satisfactory for interiors, many of them are 
far too expensive to be used for large exterior surfaces. 
The tinting colors made for house painters are also used 
by decorators and artists, but such colors are then 
ground finer and are usually more transparent than is 
necessary for tinting house paints. Most of the tinting 
colors used for exterior house paints:are mined from 


the earth like coal, or are made by chemical manufac- 
172 





TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 173 


turing processes. The umbers, siennas, ochres and Vene- 
tian red are the most notable of the earth pigments, 
while Prussian blue, chrome yellow, chrome green and 
lampblack are the best known color pigments made by 
chemical manufacturing processes. 

The tinting colors made for coloring white paint, are 
put up in a thick paste form and sold in tubes, 1 and 5 
pound cans and in 1214 and 25 pound pails. Larger 
packages can be had for special purposes. This paste 
is thinned down with linseed oil or turpentine to brush- 
ing consistency and may, of course, be used as a paint 
in itself, but usually such colors are used for mixing 
with white paint to produce tints and shades. 

Nothing is gained by buying lower grade colors be- 
cause the tinting strength is reduced by the addition of 
extenders and, consequently, a greater quantity of such 
tinting color must be used to secure the tints or shades 
wanted. It will pay the painter to buy the best grade 
of tinting colors because they are brighter, clearer and 
have greater tinting strength than colors made to fit a 
low price. Cheap grades of tinting colors not only lack 
tinting strength, but they are apt to be muddy or 
cloudy. 

Below is a list of the tinting colors most commonly 
used by painters for exterior paints and to a large ex- 
tent for interior paints. 'There are some variations in 
names of tinting colors, because some manufacturers 
give special names to certain grades or shades of earth 
and chemical colors. 


TINTING COLORS GROUND IN OIL 


Reds 
Searlet Vermilion Indian Red. 
English Vermilion Tusean Red 
Unfading Vermilion Turkey Red 


Permanent Red Venetian Red 





174 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Blues 
Prussian Blue Chinese Blue 
Ultramarine Blue Cobalt Blue — 
Yellows 
Dutch Pink Light or Canary Chrome 
Golden Ochre Yellow 
Yellow Ochre Medium Chrome Yellow 
French Yellow Ochre Orange Chrome Yellow 
Blacks 
Lamp Black Coach Black 
Carbon Black English Blue Black 
Black Iron Oxide Ivory Drop Black 
Greens 
Forest Green, light, me- Light Chrome Green 
dium and dark Medium Chrome Green 
Emerald Green Bottle Green 
Olive Green Bronze Green 
Browns 
Burnt Umber Raw Sienna 
Vandyke Brown Burnt Sienna 
Brunswick Brown Raw Umber 


CHARACTERISTIC OF COLOR PIGMENTS 


Opaque Colors.—These are such as hide the surface 
more or less completely. The blacks are the most con- 
Spicuous, of course, in this group. 

In the red group of tinting colors for house paints 
all cover well; Venetian red, Indian red and American 
vermilion hide the surface very well. 

Among the blue pigments all are quite opaque, except 
when mixed thin for glazing and staining. 

Of the yellows, the chrome yellows being made on a 
white lead base, are the most opaque. In fact, the other 
yellows are commonly used as glaze colors pecans they 
possess a degree of transparency. Yellow ochre, except 


Se Se ee ee ee 


TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 175 


in the high grades of French ochre, is rather opaque and 
too muddy, as the decorator puts it, to be used for glaz- 
ing or mixing stains. 

Greens are rather opaque, yet they are transparent 
enough in most grades to be used for glazing when 
mixed thin. Browns are also fairly opaque when finely 
ground and used in a thick film, but all are excellent 
glaze colors, because of their degree of transparency 
when mixed thin. 

_ White pigments which are really opaque are limited 
innumber. White lead has held first place in the matter 
of opacity for hundreds of years and its many virtues 
may keep it in first plate indefinitely. 

Of recent years titanium oxide has made claim to 
honors as the most opaque white pigment, but its case 
has not yet been fully substantiated as an all-around 
equal to white lead. 

Zine Oxide has held second place for opacity among 
white pigments suitable for outside painting and it has 
held first place in the matter of fineness for years. It is 
not so opaque as white lead, however. 

Then, considering only the quality of opaqueness and 
not general utility as a paint pigment, china clay and 
whiting, silica and barytes are les$ opaque white pig- 
ments, but are very useful for some purposes in interior 
decorating. 

For interior wall paints, window-shade paints and 
enamel undercoaters, lithophone has first claim to popu- 
larity, because of its very great opacity and moderate 
cost. It is not suitable for exterior paints, however. 

Transparent Colors——These are not really trans- 
parent in the sense that glass is transparent, but they 
are semi-transparent when mixed thin. The glaze colors 
and especially the lake colors and aniline colors are the 
best examples of the transparent class, but even the 
commonly good grades of tinting colors for house paints 
are satisfactorily transparent for some jobs of glazing, 


176 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


mottling, blending and Tiffany finish. For mixing 
stains, only the transparent colors are suitable. The 
aniline colors, being especially transparent, are very 
fine for both staining and glazing. 

The Fading of Colors—Among all the colors 
used some are very permanent, some fairly permanent 
and others are quite fugitive when placed in strong 
light or subjected to the elements on exterior sur- 
faces. And it should also be remembered that many 
colors which prove quite fugitive and unsatisfactory 
when used for the wrong purposes are really suit- 
able and satisfactory when used for the purpose for 
which they were manufactured. For instance, the 
beautiful lake colors made for superfine automobile 
painting and to be protected by many coats of varnish, 
would not give satisfactory service if used to tint out- 
side paint. Bright colors made with Prussian blue, 
chrome green and certain anilines will not hold their 
eolors long in direct sunlight, yet there are no more 
permanent colors of their kind to take their place. If 
judgment is shown about using fugitive colors, placing 
them out of strong light or on interior surfaces, they 
are completely satisfactory. 

Earth colors such as Venetian red, raw and burnt 
umber, raw and burnt sienna, yellow ochre, and some 
few others are, generally speaking, more permanent 
than chemical colors like Prussian blue, chrome green 
and chrome yellow; but, as stated, the latter are suffi- 
ciently permanent for the purpose of house decorating, 
and there are no others to take their place. If blues 
and greens are to be used for exterior exposure, mix 
them with earth colors to increase their permanency ; 
that will dim their brightness, but when added to white 
or black, pleasing tints and shades are secured. 

Following is a tabulation of colors arranged accord- 
ing to their permanence in light: 





TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE A Wy bs 


NON-FADING 


Raw Sienna ~ Venetian Red 
Burnt Sienna Chromium Oxide Green 
Lamp Black Toluidine Red 
Ivory Drop Black Yellow Ochre 
Carbon Black Tusean Red 
Black Oxide of Iron Vermilion 
Indian Red Ultramarine Blue (except 
Raw Umber when used with white 
Burnt Umber lead) i 
Vandyke Brown Cobalt Blue 

FAIRLY PERMANENT 
Chrome Green, Light Chrome Green, Dark 


Chrome Yellow, Light Chrome Yellow, Orange 
Chrome Green, Medium Cadmium Yellow 
Chrome Yellow, Medium Para Red (aniline) 


FUGITIVE 

Prussian Blue Yellow Lake 
Antwerp Blue Carmine 
Chinese Blue Crimson Lake 
Duteh Pink Searlet Lake 
Red Lead Purple Madder 
Aniline Reds Madder Lake 

(except Toluidine) Rose Madder 
Indigo Purple Carmine 
Indian Yellow Violet Carmine 


MIXING COLORED PAINTS 


The first operation necessary to mixing tints and 
shades of colors and all except the very dark colors 
is to mix a white paint as described in Chapter VI. 
The white paint may be thinned to its final brushing 
consistency or only to a very thin, workable paste be- 
fore the tinting colors are added. The colors should 
be added before the white paint has been finally 
strained. The tinting colors to be used should be mixed 


178 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


with oil or turpentine until the paste is thoroughly 
broken up and is thin enough to be strained through 
fine screen or cheese cloth. One or more tinting colors 
are then added to the white paint and thoroughly 
stirred in so that each amount of tinting color added is 
well incorporated and shows its full tinting strength 
before more color is added. If a thorough job of mixing 
is not done little dark streaks of color will appear in 
the paint when it is being brushed out on the surface. 
- A batch of white paint being tinted always looks 
darker in color in the pot than when brushed out on the 
surface. You should, therefore, test your color by 
brushing it out on a board. The tinting color should 
be added in very small amounts because it is very 
easy to put in too much and then a considerable amount 
of white paint will be required to bring the color back 
to where you want it. Before adding the final amount 
of tinting color, it is a good plan to strain your paint 
if the tinting color has not been previously strained, 
and if there is any doubt about the paint being thor- 
oughly mixed. The straining will catch any lumps of 
color, break them up and make them exert their tinting 
strength on the white paint. 

Dry tinting colors are not suitable for tinting paint, 
as a rule, although in emergency they are sometimes 
used. The dry color should be mixed with oil or tur- 
pentine and rubbed out on a piece of glass or board 
with a spatula, putty knife or smooth mixing paddle 
and then strained well before adding to the white paint. 
This precaution is necessary to break up the lumps of 
color and to eliminate any grit. 

Mixing Dark Colors.—Light tints and shades of paint 
are simply white paints having a small amount of tint- 
ing color mixed in with them. As the paints are made 
darker the amount of white paint in the composition, 
of course, decreases. When it comes to mixing very 
dark colored paint like chocolate brown, deep reds, dark 





TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 179 


greens and blues, there is little or no white paint in 
such compositions. 

When only small amounts of dark colored paints are 
needed, the most convenient way often is to mix them 
from regular tinting colors ground in oul, thinning 
such color pastes down with linseed oil or turpentine 
and adding a little japan drier. This makes a rather 
expensive paint, however, with certain colors and the 
tinting strength of such paint is lost to some extent or, 
at least, a paint with less tinting strength would serve 
the purpose quite as well. Consequently, when many 
gallons of dark colored paint are needed it is often more 
economical to purchase the colors wanted in the form 
of factory-made ready-mixed paint. 

First class tinting colors are necessarily stronger in 
tinting quality than dark colored ready-mixed paints 
which are made only for coloring and protecting a sur- 
face. Paint manufacturers are able to mix the dark. 
colored paints in a less expensive way by using chem- 
ically pure tinting colors with less expensive basic pig- 
ments not commonly available for painters’ use. 

Proficiency in Color Mixing—Some painters and 
decorators are most skillful in the mixing of colors to 
match or harmonize with other surfaces, and there is 
a common expression to the effect that a good color 
mixer is born, not made. As a matter of fact, there 
is little truth in these words, although, of course, a 
mastery of color mixing comes more easily to some than 
to others simply because the environment and associa- 
tions in the life of some people are such as educate them 
to a greater appreciation of color values. | 

The two prime essentials in a study of color to make 
one proficient in mixing and matching are: first, an 
understanding of color theory as it relates to primary 
and secondary colors of the spectrum, the influence of 
one color on another; secondly, a thorough knowledge 
of color pigments commonly used,—as to their prop- 








180 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


erties, tinting strength, opacity or transparency and 
other characteristics. One need not go deeply into the 
theory of color and light reflections, but it is absolutely 
necessary to study diligently everything which relates 
to the color pigments available to the painter and deco- 
rator. 

One of the best ways to become acquainted with color 
pigments, their influences and values is to secure a 
pound ean, or small tube, of each of the colors listed 
in this chapter. Then, take a piece of plate glass and 
a spatula or a putty knife and make a study of one 
color at a time. Suppose you take the first color on 
the list—Indian red. Place a small amount of the 
color paste on the glass and rub part of it out to a 
thin coating to note how the color hue changes when 
the light passes through it. Then, add a very small 
bit of white lead or zine to a part of this red and mix 
the two together in varying proportions to note the 
tinting strength and the character tints made by such 
mixing. Then, take a little of the same red and mix it 
with lampblack and note the character of the shades 
so produced. Next, mix with the Indian red a little 
blue and note the result. Continue these mixings with 
yellow, green, brown, ete., until you have fixed in your 
mind the particular color hues which result from the 
use of Indian red. Now take another red—perhaps 
American vermilion. Note that Indian red has a bluish 
character and is rather dull in hue, while vermilion has 
a yellow character and is much brighter. Note for 
instance that the pinks mixed from Indian red and 
white are rather dull and uninteresting, having a bluish 
cast, while the pinks mixed from American vermilion 
are clear, bright and more interesting. Note, also, 
that the purples and violets mixed from Indian red and 
blue are quite different from those mixed from ver- 
milion and blue. 


a i 


» | 


TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 181 


COLOR CARDS AND FORMULAS 


For the mixing of house paints there really is no 
need for a painter to have for reference an extended list 
of color formulas, at least this is true after a painter 
learns the color hue and characteristics of each of the 
most common tinting colors. The formulas and color 
cards which follow are prepared simply to give the 
student a foundation upon which to build a more ex- 
tensive knowledge of color mixing formulas. 

Black Paint.—For exterior surfaces ordinary lamp- 
black is commonly mixed to dry with a gloss by re- 
ducing lampblack ground in oil to a paste form with 
linseed oil, a little turpentine and a little japan drier. 
In this case the drier should be used whether raw or 
boiled linseed oil is used, because lampblack is a slow- 
drying pigment. 

If the paint is to dry flat, use no linseed oil, but 
thin the lampblack entirely with turpentine using a 
little japan drier, or thin the black with flatting oil. 
When a black is wanted for a finer job of painting 
such as for furniture or automobile surfaces use drop 
black, which is sometimes called ivory black. If the 
surface is to be gloss, ivory black ground to a paste 
in oil and thinned with linseed oil or turpentine and a 
little varnish will give you the black paint wanted. 
If the surface is to be flat without any gloss, use ivory 
black ground to a paste in japan and thinned with tur- 
pentine, or with flatting oil or with flat drying varnish. 

Gray Paint.—Any white paint to which lampblack or 
ivory black is added will give you a gray which is 
not so very interesting. If you will add to the black 
and white a little raw umber or, in fact, a very little 
of umber, raw sienna and a touch of red or blue you 
will produce gray shades which are much more inter- 
esting than the crude raw color resulting from black 
and white. 








182 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Brown Paints, Color Card No. 1.—In the list of tint- 
ing colors printed in the first part of this chapter 
six browns are given. From this number burnt umber, 
Vandyke brown and Brunswick brown are the only ones 
which are really of a pure brown tone. Raw sienna in 
the paste form is a light brown, but when mixed with 
white it produces yellow tints. Burnt sienna is a red- 
dish brown in the paste form, but when mixed with 
white it gives pink tints. Raw umber is a grayish 
brown in the paste form and when mixed with white 
it produces warm gray or drab tints. 

An uninteresting chocolate brown paint results from 
mixing burnt umber with boiled linseed oil and a little 
turpentine. Vandyke brown mixed in the same manner 
gives a more interesting brown and one with a warm 
hue. 

A very good dark brown may be mixed from 25 
pounds of burnt umber, 10 pounds of burnt sienna and 
1 or 2 ounces of chrome yellow, all of which are used 
to tint 100 pounds of white lead. Color card No. 1 
shows burnt umber in the paste form, which you will 
note, is a very dark brown, almost black. 

Color Card No. 2.—Browns and tans may be mixed 
in many ways with different combinations of burnt 
umber, raw umber and raw sienna. The color shown on 
ecard No. 2 may be mixed by the use of 1 pound of 
burnt umber with 40 pounds of white lead or a com- 
bination of 40 pounds of white lead and zinc. 

Yellow Paints, Color Card No. 3.—The two most 
commonly used yellow paints for exterior surfaces are 
mixed from chrome yellow, medium light or dark, and 
from raw sienna. The chrome yellows are much 
brighter and are satisfactory from the standpoint of 
durability, but raw sienna makes yellow paints which 
are among the most durable of colors when exposed 
to sunlight and the weather. Color ecard No. 3 shows 
medium chrome yellow tinting color without any white 





Burnt Umber (only) 





1 lb. Burnt Umber 
No. 40 Ibs. White Lead 


No. 3 Medium Chrome Yellow (only) 


1 lb. Medium Chrome Yellow 
No. 4 20 Ibs. White Lead 


1 lb. Medium Chrome Yellow 
No. 5 609 Ibs. White Lead 





No. 6 Raw Sienna (only) 


N 1 lb. Raw Sienna 
0-7 10 lbs. White Lead 


N 1 lb. Raw Sienna 
0. 8 60 Ibs. White Lead 


No. 9 French Yellow Ochre (only) 


Ret 1 lb. French Yellow Ochre 
©. 10 19 Ibs. White Lead 


No. 11 Venetian Red (only) 


| 


5 


eS eS es a 


1 lb. Venetian Red 
10 lbs. White Lead 


Z 
° 

= 
NS) 


1 lb. Venetian Red 
0. 13 60 Ibs. White Lead 


Z 





Z 


o. 14 Burnt Sienna (only) 


1 lb. Burnt Sienna 
0. 15 10 lbs. White Lead 


Z 





1 1b. Burnt Sienna 
0- 16 60 Ibs. White Lead 


Z 





Z 


o. 17 Prussian Blue (only) 





1 lb. Prussian Blue 
100 lbs. White Lead 


Zz 
° 

rar 
00 





1 lb. Prussian Blue 
0. 19 160 Ibs. White Lead 


a 





Z 


o. 20 Light Chrome Green (only) 











TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 183 


or other pigment mixed with it. This color paste mixed 
with boiled linseed oil and turpentine makes a paint 
which covers and hides a surface exceptionally well. 
It makes a rather expensive paint, however, and it 
is, therefore, customary when painting large surfaces 
with chrome yellow, or a mixture of chrome yellow 
and white called colonial yellow to use but little yellow 
in the undercoats. In other words, the first and second 
coats are white paint tinted to an ivory or cream color 
with medium chrome yellow, or raw sienna and then 
only the finishing coat is mixed from medium chrome 
yellow principally. In this way some of the expensive 
tinting color, chrome yellow, is saved with no detriment 
to the job. 

Color Card No. 4 is a yellow paint made by mixing 
1 pound of medium chrome yellow with 20 pounds of 
white lead or white lead and zinc paste. 

Color Card No. 5 is a cream color mixed with 1 pound 
of medium chrome yellow and 60 pounds of white 
lead paste or white lead and zinc. A more durable 
color of a very similar character, color card No. 8, is 
made from raw sienna. 

Color Card No. 6.—This is raw sienna tinting color 
paste as it comes from the can without any addition 
of white or any other color. 

Color Card No. 7.—In this we have a very interesting 
light tan color made by tinting 10 pounds of white lead 
or white lead and zine with 1 pound of raw sienna. 
This is both a very attractive color and one which is 
exceedingly durable when subjected to sunlight and the 
elements. 

Color Card No. 8.—A cream color which is a most 
durable and substantial color for exterior surfaces. 
It is mixed by using 60 pounds of white lead, or lead 
and zine, with 1 pound of raw sienna. Some very at- 
tractive ivory tints can be produced in the same manner 
by using less sienna with the same amount of white. 


184 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Color Card No. 9.—This is yellow ochre tinting color 
in the paste form without admixture of white or other 
colors. It is an earth color which is very durable in 
the weather and when exposed to strong hight. French 
yellow ochre is much superior to the common grades 
both in the brilliance of its color and tinting strength. 
The best of yellow ochres are very similar to raw sienna. 

Color Card No. 10.—An interesting light tan or buff 
color mixed by tinting 10 pounds of white with 1 pound 
of high-quality yellow ochre. Tints and shades mixed 
with cheap grades of yellow ochre which are muddy 
and lack tinting strength are decidedly uninteresting 
and should not be used. Raw sienna tints and shades 
are much to be preferred. All of these color paints 
are to be mixed with boiled linseed oil and a little tur- 
pentine. If raw linseed oil is used, a small amount 
of japan drier is required. Chrome yellow and raw 
sienna dry well, but yellow ochre is a slow-drying 
pigment, as a rule, and requires more drier. 

Red Paints, Color Card No. 11.—Very few exterjor 
surfacés require red paints which are brilliant of hue. 
The red shown on color ecard No. 11 is rather bright 
and it is permanent as to color when exposed to bright 
sunlight and the weather. This color is mixed, using 
only Venetian red and boiled linseed oil in the pro- 
portion of about 31% to 414 gallons of oil to 100 pounds 
of red. About 1 pint or 1 quart of turpentine may be 
added to make the paint work more freely under the 
brush and penetrate a little more. If raw oil is used 
a bit of japan drier is needed. The color which is 
widely known as brick red is mixed in the proportion 
of 4 pounds of white lead, 2 pounds of Venetian and 
1 pound of Indian red. 

Color Card No. 12.—Rather a dull, light red mixed 
with 1 lb. of Venetian red and 10 lbs. of white lead. 

Color Card No. 13.—A pink of pleasing hue and 
durable even in bright sunlight, For interior purposes 





TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 185 


pinks made with American vermilion are brighter and 
more pleasing as a rule. 

Color Card No. 14.—This is burnt sienna tinting 
color paste without any white or other color mixed 
with it. It is a decidedly permanent paint and will 
hold its color when subjected to the weather and bright 
sunshine for years. When the oil in the paint finally 
perishes, the color will be somewhat dulled and grayish, 
but if more oil were added to the surfaces its bright 
eolor would return. 

Color Card No. 15.—A yellowish pink mixed with 10 
pounds of white lead, or lead and zinc, and 1 pound 
of burnt sienna. 

Color Card No. 16.—A light pink made from 60 
pounds of white lead or lead and zine and 1 pound of 
burnt sienna. More interesting pinks result from tint- 
ing white with American vermilion. 

In addition to the above reds we have Tuscan and 
Indian red and vermilion all of which produce tints 
and shades with white which are of a slightly different 
character. When real bright reds are wanted American 
vermilion may be used with white paint. American 
vermilion is made on a lead base and is better for 
many purposes than English, French or Chinese ver- 
milions which are made on a sulphur base. American 
vermilion, also, is less expensive and it is usually 
identically the same in color hue. There are several 
other reds on the market made from coal tar and aniline 
colors. Some of them are very permanent as to color 
and are called perma red, unfading vermilion and per- 
manent red. The vermilion made on a sulphur base 
should not be used with white lead, because there is 
an unfavorable chemical reaction which results in turn- 
ing the lead dark in color. The sulphur reds may, how- 
ever, be used with zine without such action. 

All of these tints and shades are mixed into paint 
by the addition of boiled linseed oil and a little turpen- 


186 ‘HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


tine, and when raw linseed oil is used, a small amount 
of first class japan drier is required. 

Blue Paints, Color Card No. 17.—This ecard which 
appears to be black is painted with Prussian blue tint- . 
ing color paste without the addition of white or other 
color. Prussian blue is one of the strongest tinting 
colors made and, in fact, it is so strong that a painter 
usually makes his first few mixes too dark. This blue, 
while extensively used, is not permanent in color when 
exposed to the sunlight, although it is satisfactory for 
tinting interior paints and for light blues used on porch 
ceilings. 

Color Card No. 18.—A medium dark blue mixed with 
100 pounds of white lead, or lead and zine, and 1 pound 
of Prussian blue. 

Color Card No. 19 is a blue paint mixed from 1 
pound of Prussian blue and 160 pounds of white lead 
or lead and zine. 

All of these colored paints are made by thinning the 
colors and white lead with boiled linseed oil and a little 
turpentine. When raw linseed oil is used a small 
amount of japan drier is essential. 

While Prussian blue is most extensively used by 
painters, there are several other blues, among them 
ultramarine and cobalt blue, which if anything are more 
interesting in hue than Prussian. These blues do not 
have the greenish hue which is characteristic of Prus- 
sian blue. Ultramarine and cobalt blues ought not to 
be mixed with white lead, because they have a sulphur 
content which turns white lead carbonate to lead sul- 
phide which is black. These blues may be mixed with 
zinc, however, without this chemical action. 

Green Paints, Color Card No. 20.—The color shown 
is a light chrome green, a color made chemically in a 
way similar to that used for producing Prussian blue. 
Chrome green may also be had in darker hues ealled 
medium and dark. The color card was made from light 





TINTING COLORS AND THEIR USE 187 


chrome green without the mixture of white. The 
chrome greens are called fugitive colors, because they 
are not aS permanent in strong light as such earth 
colors as the umbers and siennas. The chrome greens, 
however, are valuable color pigments which cannot be 
dispensed with, because there are no better colors to 
replace them. Dark chrome green is commonly used 
on window blinds and sometimes on roofs. A dark 
green paint which is more permanent to the light may 
be mixed, however, from raw umber, a little yellow 
ochre or raw sienna and just enough medium or dark 
green to add the color tone wanted. You can also mix 
green paints, of course, by using chrome yellow and 
Prussian blue and raw sienna. These green paints are 
likely to fade out in places more quickly than those 
made from chrome green, because there is a separation 
in the colors as they wear. Chrome green is a rather 
slow drying color and requires a little more japan drier 
than others. 

There are other greens which are available for tint- 
ing paints and each has a slightly different color hue. 
They are bronze green, bottle green and emerald green. 

Green paint is, of course, mixed by adding boiled 
linseed oil and a little turpentine to the color pigments. 
When raw linseed oil is used, a little more japan drier 
is needed. Light greens are mixed by tinting white 
lead or lead in zine with medium chrome green. 

Dark Colors at Less Cost—When only a little dark 
colored paint is needed the mixing formulas suggested 
above will provide the paint. When a gallon or more 
of dark colors is needed it is probably wiser to buy a 
factory-made prepared paint of a suitable color. Such 
paint can be made a little lighter by adding white to it, 
if desired; or its color may be slightly changed by the 
addition of tinting colors in small amounts. Manufac- 
turers are in position to make dark colored paints of 
good quality at less cost than that made by painters, 


188 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


because they are able to tint less expensive pigments 
with very strong chemically pure colors and by the 
use of greater skill and knowledge of paint chemists. 

More Attractive Colors—We have considered so far 
the mixing of colored paint simply by adding a tint- 
ing color to white. Such a procedure seldom produces 
tints which are as attractive as those made by tinting 
white with more than one color. For instance, a tan 
may be mixed by adding burnt umber to white. Such 
a tan is rather lifeless. If you add a very little chrome 
yellow and a very little red you produce a tan which 
holds a great deal more of interest. In the mixing 
of grays the same thing is true. A much more in- 
teresting gray than that produced by a mixture of 
black and white are those grays which are made by 
mixing black and white and a little blue, or a little 
vellow, or a little red or all of these tinting colors 
to the black and white. The part to remember, then, 
is that colored paints mixed from two or three tinting 
colors and black, or white, are much to be preferred 
over two-color combinations. When you add a second 
or third color you may not be able to see that color in 
the paint, because such a small amount is used, but 
you may be sure that it has a favorable influence upon 
the paint. 





CHAPTER VIII 


FACTORY READY-MIXED PAINTS 


THERE are many honest differences of opinion among 
men in the painting business and among men in the 
manufacturing business as to the merits of one paint 
over another. And like all other industries the paint 
trade is not made up of 100 per cent of honest men, 
so there are many. good paints and some poor paints 
made to fit a low price usually. But the vast majority 
of men in the paint trade are sincere, honest and 
forward-looking individuals building business upon the 
firm foundation of merit and quality of their products. 

We have large groups of painters and manufacturers 
who firmly believe in the single pigment paint, that is, 
in White lead and linseed oil. Another group believes 
that such paint is good but is made better by the ad- 
dition of a second basic pigment—zine oxide. Their 
belief is that white lead is a bit too soft and chalks 
or dusts off a surface too readily, that while zinc is 
too hard and brittle to be used alone as an exterior 
paint because it cracks and scales off, it does, neverthe- 
less, add to white lead the quality it lacks. The theory 
is that each pigment—lead and zinc—adds to the other 
its desirable qualities and each eliminates the other’s 
defects, and that when mixed together in correct pro- 
portions a better paint is made than that resulting from 
the use of either pigment alone. 

The third group believes substantially what the other 
two groups believe about the value of lead and zine 


as basic paint pigments, but believes also that the ad- 
189 


190 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


dition of certain inert pigments such as barytes, mag- 
nesium silicate (asbestine) or whiting in some form, 
reinforces the basic lead and zine pigments and makes 
a more durable paint. 

The point of greatest difference of opinion between 
these three groups is as to what percentages of zine 
and inert pigments are best. And it is obvious to all 
who know the characteristics of lead, zine, barytes, whit- 
ing, silica, clay, asbestine, titanox, ete., that paint is 
good or poor from the standpoint of durability without 
scaling, depending upon the proportions of various 
pigments used in it. 

The author has no desire to tell you what is the 
best paint. You probably would not agree if he did. 
But by placing before you the characteristics of basic 
paint ingredients you are put in position to judge the 
values of paints more intelligently. But, after all, 
good service given by any particular brand or kind 
of paint, your own favorable experience with it, and the 
name of a reputable manufacturer on standard, well 
advertised brands count for most. 

One outstanding fact about ready-mixed or prepared 
paints for exterior surfaces is that the best quality of 
such paints contains large percentages of white lead 
and zine and small percentages of inert pigments. 
Whereas cheap, low quality paints for exterior sur- 
faces contain small percentages of, or no, lead or zine. 

In substance the statements commonly made by 
manufacturers of factory-made mixed paints is that 
mixtures of white lead and zine oxide properly bal- 
anced with moderate percentages of reinforcing pig- 
ments, such as magnesium silicate (asbestine), barytes, 
silica and calcium carbonate are most satisfactory from 
every standpoint, and are superior to mixtures of basic 
pigments not reinforced with inert pigments. 

The perfect paint, of course, is that which protects 
and decorates a surface for a reasonable number of 





FACTORY READY-MIXED PAINTS 191 


years, and when repainting is necessary leaves a sur- 
face with a firm foundation for the new coats. Perfect 
paint is neither so soft as to chalk off prematurely or 
excessively, nor so hard as to crack and scale, neces- 
sitating the expense of burning and scraping before 
repainting can be successfully done. 

The better grades of prepared paints for exterior 
surfaces show that about 85 per cent of the total pig- 
ment is white lead and zine oxide, that the maximum 
amount of inert pigments is 15 per cent of the total 
pigment content, that the liquid portion is composed 
of linseed oil, turpentine or equivalent mineral spirits 
and the necessary drier and color. 

It is evident that with so many variable factors pre- 
pared paint can be made which is good and serviceable 
and also such paint as is not good nor serviceable. 
To make good paints requires: 

(a) The honest desire and intent to make the best 
of serviceable paint; 

(b) The necessary chemical knowledge, skill and 
experience to make the most of available materials, be- 
cause both good and poor paints can be made from 
the same materials; 

(ec) The use of the best pigments and liquid ma- 
terials for the purpose and in correct proportions, 
making use of the cheaper inert or reinforcing pigments 
only to such extent as actually improves the paint by 
balancing up basic pigments and in accord with general 
experience of the trade. 

The standard by which the value of exterior pre- 
pared paint may be fairly judged is: 

1. It must cover 300 square feet or more per gallon 
of good surface with two coats, producing a uniform, 
evenly-colored surface with no dark or thin places. 

2. It must produce a paint film which is not so 
hard and brittle as to crack and scale off when the 
wood expands and contracts with temperature changes, 


192 HOUSE PAINTING METIIODS 


nor so soft as to chalk off rapidly on exposure to the 
sun, nor wash off by the rain. 

3. It must have an average life of three to five years 
of protection for the surface. And under favorable 
circumstances to wear much longer. 

4. It must be durable in color, neither fading too 
rapidly in the sun, nor changing color, bleaching or 
discoloring, due to chemical reactions. The color of 
the paint under the dust and dirt accumulations to be 
the color judged. 

dD. It must leave the surface of the building in suit- 
able condition for repainting, without the necessity for 
burning and scraping off the old paint. Only dusting 
off and puttying should be needed. 


MIXING PREPARED PAINTS 


These paints whether made for exterior or interior 
surfaces are thoroughly ground in the factories both 
to make the pigment fine and to incorporate the oil 
with the pigment, just as white lead and zine are 
ground through powerful mills to incorporate the oil. 

But after a can of prepared paint has stood on the 
shelf for some weeks or months the oil comes to the 
top and the pigment settles to the bottom. In high 
quality paints the pigment should not, however, get 
hard, even after separating from the oil. More or less 
mixing is required to make prepared paint ready for 
the brush. The best way to go about this mixing 
follows :— 


1. Before opening a can shake it well; 

2. Cut the top out with a putty knife and 
pour the liquid off into a clean pot; 

3. With a clean, flat paddle stir the pigment 
left in the can with a little of the liquid 
until it is soft and all pigment has been 
raised off the bottom. 

4, Now pour back the liquid removed, a little 





FACTORY READY-MIXED PAINTS _ 193 


at a time, stirring each lot until it dis- 
appears into the pigment. 

do. When all the liquid has been stirred into 
the pigment strain the paint through fly 
screen and pour it into another clean pot. 
Repeat two or three times, pouring the 
paint from one pot to another and it will 
be ready for the brush. 


Adding More Liquids.—Factory prepared paints are 
made thick enough to cover well in one coat over a 
surface of similar color, When used for the priming 
coat on new wood the paint should be thinned about 
25 per cent for the first coat only. To each gallon of 
paint, therefore, add about 114 pints of boiled linseed 
oil and 1% pint turpentine when the wood is of average 
fairly absorbent character. When the wood is yellow 
pitch pine, cypress or any wood which is well filled 
with gum, resin or sap streaks, it is better to add to 
each gallon of paint about 1 pint of boiled linseed oil 
and 1 pint of turpentine for the priming coat only. 

On two-coat jobs use the paint without thinning for 
the second coat. 

For three-coat jobs the paint for the second coat 
requires a little thinning to make it dry semi-flat and 
permit the third coat to take hold and dry without run- 
ning, sagging or creeping and crawling, as it will when 
put onto a second coat of high gloss. Thin the second 
coat with about 1 pint of turpentine for each gallon 
of paint on three-coat work. For the third coat use 
the paint without adding more liquid. 

Changing Colors.—Any factory-prepared paint may 
be changed as to color simply by adding the correct 
tinting colors or other colors of prepared paint. Tint- 
ing colors should be mixed well with a little turpentine 
or linseed oil and be strained before adding to the 
paint. White factory-prepared paints may be tinted 


194 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


the same as white lead and zine white paints, using 
the same tinting colors in the same way. 

Characteristics of Pigments-——White paints and light 
tints which necessarily contain large percentages of 
white pigments, are more expensive than dark colored 
paints. This is true because there are only a few basic 
white pigments which are opaque when mixed with oil. 

White lead (carbonate), white lead (sublimed) zine 
oxide, leaded zine, lithopone and titanium oxide (ti- 
tanox) are opaque—they hide a surface well—when 
mixed with oil and when dry. 

Whiting, silica, barytes, clay and one or two others 
are quite as opaque as the above group when compared 
in the dry form, but this latter group is made up of 
white pigments which are too transparent when mixed 
with oil to serve as basic paint pigments. 

There are, of course, many dark colored pigments 
which make durable and satisfactory paints and which 
are even more opaque than the basic white pigments. 
Some of these are: lampblack, raw and burnt umber, 
raw and burnt sienna, graphite, aluminum bronze, Vene- 
tian red, etc. | 

White pigments are usually divided into two groups, 
depending upon their character when mixed with a 
liquid like linseed oil. 

In the first group of white pigments which are noted 
for their property of imparting a white color, opacity 
or hiding power, to paints are these pigments which are 
commonly known and used:—white lead, zine oxide, 
lithopone and titanium oxide. 

In the second group are the pigments which are 
called extender or reinforcing pigments. In the dry 
state they are white, but when mixed with a liquid 
like linseed oil and spread as paint they have very 
little opacity or ability to hide the surface. In this 
second group are the following pigments:— 





FACTORY READY-MIXED PAINTS 195 


Barium Sulphate—(barytes, blanc fixe, permanent 
white) 

Silica—(silex, silicious earth) 

Magnesium Silicate—(asbestus, asbestine, pulp, talc) 

Alumina—(China clay, precipitated alumina, feld- 
spar, kaolin, alumina hydrate) 

Calcium Sulphate—(gypsum, terra alba) 

Calcium Carbonate—(white mineral primer, Paris 
white, whiting) 

Bulking Values of Pigments, Dry—The following 
figures are commonly used to indicate the values of pig- 
ments and are useful only to those who do more or less 
grinding of paints for various purposes: 











Weight |100 lbs. pig- 

Opaque Pigments, Dry Specific] per solid|ment bulk 

Gravity|U.S. Gal.| in gallons 
Basic Carbonate W. Lead..... 6.8 57 1.76 
Be i ee ce ee 5.7 47 2.12 
Zine Oxide, high leaded....... 5.9 49 2.00 
Se 4.3 36 2.80 
OME ork cs ce eee 4.3 36 2.80 

Extender Pigments 

oy aa ae rrr 4.4 37 2.70 
Asbestine, Magnesium Sil..... 2.9 24 4,20 
Oe O o  k 2.7 22 4.43 
No aE a ar 2.6 22 4.53 
UES 2 0 a 2.6 22 4.58 


Titanium Oxide.—One of the new paint pigments but 
recently perfected. It is receiving widespread at- 
tention. While it is not sold to the painter as a,sepa- 
rate pigment, like white lead and zinc, it is, however, be- 
ing used as a basic pigment with zine in prepared house 
paints. 

Titanox is a trade name for a white opaque pigment 
the essential part of which is titanium oxide. 

A most interesting account of the development of 
titanium oxide was given by C. H. Hall, Pittsburgh 
Plate Glass Co., before the Minnesota Master Painters 
Association, This address in part follows: 


196 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


‘‘The development of new pigments in the paint 
industry, from the nature of the business, is naturally 
slow and conservative. The need of white pigments 
for exterior use having improved properties over those 
now available has, however, been forcibly demonstrated 
by the great technical development in the industry in 
the last fifteen years. (Note 1) While several products 
offer promise from a strictly scientific standpoint, very 
few have held out possibilities from a practical one. 
The oxides of a number of the less common metals, one 
of which is tin, produce white opaque pigments, but are 
impracticable from an economic standpoint. 

‘To produce a pigment which is commercially prac- 
tical, raw material must be reasonably cheap and 
readily available in practically unlimited quantities so 
as to permit the production of a product either decid- 
edly cheaper or decidedly better than those now avail- 
able. 

‘‘Until recently titanium has been classified as one 
of the rare minerals, although the recent investigations 
and reports of the Geological Survey show that it is 
widely distributed throughout the earth in abundant 
quantities. It exists in its most abundant form as the 
mineral ilmenite, which is a combination with iron, 
containing between 40 and 50 per cent of titanium 
oxide. The pure oxide has an opacity of approximately 
three times white lead and double that of zine oxide, but 
it is found that if a base of proper fineness and texture 





Author’s Notes.——While discussing this subject with other 
authorities the author found general agreement with Mr. Hall’s 
statements. There were, however, a few points where divergent 
conclusions were drawn. <A brief statement of these differences 
will no doubt be of interest to readers: 


Note 1—To supplement Mr. Hall’s remarks it may be added 
that this development of new pigments has resulted in the pro- 
duction of numerous different types of paint coatings composed 
of various pigments and modern vehicles to meet the varying con- 
ditions of surfaces and structures, largely additional to the 
exterior wood surfaces of houses. 





FACTORY READY-MIXED PAINTS 197 


is added that when only 25 per cent of the pure oxide 
is present and 75 per cent of the base, that the pigment 
has an opacity equal to 85 to 90 per cent of the pure 
material. (Note 2). Above this percentage an increase 
in the titanium oxide, therefore, adds little or nothing 
to the opacity ;—on the other hand, a decrease decreases 
the opacity in direct proportion to the decrease of ti- 
tanium oxide. At this point, therefore,—namely, with a 
content of 25 per cent titanium oxide—the material 
offers the greatest economic value, and in consequence 
has made the production of the pigment practical, as 
the great amount.of raw material and the expense of 
purifying the titanium solution would otherwise make 
the pigment so expensive that it could not compete in a 
large way with standard white pigments. 

“‘The color, when iron is completely eliminated, is a 
very clear white, and produces with tinting material 
tints of a very clear tone. Its opacity is approximately 
three times that of white lead and double that of zine 
oxide. In giving these figures it is understood that 
where a given weight of the material is spread over a 
given surface, the above figures are correct. (Note 8). 

“Chemically, the pigment is extremely stable, being 
practically inert and unaffected by ordinary acid and 
alkalies. It is in no way dissolved or changed by various 
gases in the atmosphere. On exposure alone it chalks 
somewhat more than white lead, chalking beginning on 
the average at a somewhat earlier date. Alone, titanium 





Note 2—It has been suggested that the opacity of pure titanium 
oxide might be a bit more conservatively stated as being fully 
twice that of white lead and of zine oxide. 


Note 3—Again as to the opacity of pure titanium oxide, the 
point is stated by. another authority in these words:—‘‘The 
opacity of the precipitated composite type titanium oxide pig- 
ment is approximately two times that of the usual white opaque 
pigments used in exterior paints. These figures are based on rela- 
tive hiding power, weight basis, and not on tinting power, weight 
basis. 


198 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


oxide pigment does not make a satisfactory exterior 
paint and its use alone should be scrupulously avoided. 
(Note 4). The chalking feature is, of course, very de- 
sirable, but at the same time it is desirable that this 
be retarded to the maximum time possible, without the 
possibility of developing checking. When the proper 
steps are taken to do this, an article is produced which 
has the various properties described below, and which in 
a way is revolutionary from a paint standpoint. 
(Note 5). 

‘‘1, Has about one half greater opacity than paints 
now considered standard when thinned for painting. 
(Note 6). 

‘*2, Can be furnished of a consistency that permits 
the master painter to reduce readily without having 





Note 4—As stated by Mr. Hall this paragraph is rather all 
inclusive. It might be modified in this way:—‘‘In most exterior 
coatings the use of titanium alone should be scrupulously 
avoided. ’? 


Note 5—Speaking about control of chalking, particularly to 
retard it to the extreme, it may be well to add that when proper 
steps are taken to do this a commercial paint particularly suitable 
for painters’ use is produced. 


Note 6—Comparing titanium oxide paint with paints now con- 
sidered standard, it is the opinion of other authorities that the 
titanium paint has considerably more opacity. 

Other points of interest about this new pigment as given out 
by the manufacturers are these: 

Titanox, the trade name for a titanium oxide paint, is a true 
composite pigment consisting of titanium dioxide precipitated and 
coalesced with barium sulphate base (blane fixe). 

The properties listed are: color, white; structure, very fine 
uniform powder; hiding power, greater than that of any daca 
white pigment; chemically stable and inert. 

It is highly resistant to both acids and alkalies; it is iaatl 
fected by action of sunlight or gases and is inert toward other 
pigments, tinting materials and with oils and vehicles. Titanox 
may, therefore be used with any of the grinding liquids, varnishes 
and oil without danger of chemical reactions which may result 
in livering, hardening or granulation. Withstands high baking 
temperatures without discoloration. 





FACTORY READY-MIXED PAINTS 199 


to break up a heavy paste, but at the same time to 
fit all conditions of surface and drying. " 

**3. Can be used for tinting with any color avail- 
able whatever, without fear of reaction, or can be mixed 
with any other white pigments, 

““4. Produces a paint which is remarkably more 
adaptable to spraying because it can be applied thin 
and cover perfectly. 

“9. Dries to a smooth, high gloss surface of su- 
perior whiteness which eventually chalks moderately 
without showing indications of checking or cracking. 

“6. On account of superior opacity will still ob- 
Scure surface as well’as standard paints after chalking 
has progressed for a very considerable time. 

“‘7. On chalking, tints become lighter, as do those 
made from lead, but on tests made over a wide range 
of country and on a large amount of surface it has 
always been observed that a remarkable uniformity 
of color is maintained without predominance of blotched 
and variegated colors so often in evidence on a chalk- 
ing surface. 

‘8. Can be used in industrial sections around gas 
works or oil fields where it comes in contact with 
hydrogen sulphide fumes, without any discoloration. 
Under such conditions any paint containing lead is at 
once discolored.’’ 

Lithopone.—This is a very white and very opaque 
paint pigment which is composed of barium sulphate 
(blank fixe) and zine sulphide. The very dense white 
and hiding power of this pigment makes it valuable as 
the base for most of the flat wall paints which are used 
extensively. It is also used in manufacturing processes 
for painting purposes ;—the painting of window shades 
is a notable example of the use of lithopone. 

Lithopone in ordinary grades turns gray when ex- 
posed to sunlight, but recovers whiteness when placed 
in the dark. In the higher classes of lithopone the 


200 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


material retains its whiteness when exposed to light. 

Quite recently special grades of lithopone have been 
developed for use in exterior paints. Mixtures of 40 
per cent zine, 40 per cent lithopone and 20 per cent 
inert pigments are being sold for exterior painting pur- 
poses with assurances from manufacturers that such 
paints have been subjected to durability tests and found 
satisfactory. 

Whiting.—This is calcium carbonate and appears on 
the market as a bolted whiting for ordinary purposes 
such as making putty and as cliff stone and Paris white 
and gilders’ whiting in finer grades. 

Whiting is a fine white powder, the product of lime- 
stone which has been crushed and graded by floating off 
the fine chalk in water. The fine chalk pigment, after 
being separated from the coarse rock, is dried and then 
is ready for the decorator and painter. Whiting is 
the principal base for calcimine. Plaster of Paris, 
which is sulphate of lime, is a kindred product and is 
used by decorators in filling cracks in plaster walls. 

Silica (Silex).—This is a product obtained from 
crushing rock crystals, quartz, sand and flint into a 
fine powder form. The principal characteristics of 
silica are its great hardness and the fact that it is 
inert, having no chemical reactions on any other pig- 
ments, colors or oils with which it is mixed. In the 
dry powder form it is rather white, but on being mixed 
with an oil it changes to a yellow sand color. As the 
particles themselves are colorless, they take on the color 
of the oil with which they are mixed. The use of silica 
by the painter and decorator is largely in the form of 
paste wood fillers. Small quantities are used in under- 
coats of wall paints to give them a ‘‘tooth’’ which will 
make the second coat of paint hide the surface better, 
because more pigment can then be retained on the 
surface without running, sagging and wrinkling. 

Barytes.—This is a white pigment which is found as 


ee 





FACTORY READY-MIXED PAINTS 20] 


a natural product the world over and usually with lead 
and zine metal ores. It is prepared for the paint trade 
by grinding and the separation of the impurities by 
an acid bath and water washing. 

Barytes is a stable product chemically and does not 
Set up chemical reaction with any of the materials with 
which it is mixed. This character of being inert has 
made it the most popular base upon which chemical 
colors are made. Barytes is practically colorless, so 
takes on the color of whatever substance it is mixed 
with. It can be used to dilute strong colors without 
modifying their tone. | 

Barytes is not used by the painter as such, but has 
long been used by manufacturers, both in color making 
and paint making, and authorities claim that it actually 
increases the durability of paints. 

Asbestine (magnesium silicate).—This is a product 
of asbestos which does not come to the painter as such, 
but is used in the manufacture of prepared paint be- 
cause it is very light and fluffy. Its particles are rather 
long, narrow fibres, rather than round, and it is used 
as a sort of reinforcement in paints just as hair is used 
in plaster. Its other prime purpose is to help hold the 
paint pigments in suspension in the liquids. Some 
paints have a tendency, when sealed up in cans and 
allowed to stand on the dealers’ shelves for a long time, 
to settle to the bottom of the can. The asbestine, as 
Stated, has a tendency to keep the paint pigment in 
solution. This pigment is one of the forms of asbestus 
or tale. 

Stock White—This term today usually refers to 
factory-made prepared paints in white. There is no 
standard formula. What is commonly considered a 
good formula is mixed approximately like this :— 


45 lbs. white lead 
45 lbs. zine oxide 


202 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


10 lbs. silica, barytes or whiting 

314 gal. boiled linseed oil 

The 100 lbs. of pigments plus 25 Ibs of oil, 
or oil, turpentine and drier make about 8 gal. 
of paint. 

Such paint is about 60 per cent pigment and 
40 per cent liquids and mixes to about the 
correct brushing consistency for third coat 
work. 


The term—stock white—came into use years ago be- 
cause of the custom in many paint shops of breaking 
up white lead with linseed oil in advance of its needs. 
When the shop man was not busy the white lead was 
mixed with linseed oil, reduced to a paste consistency 
too thick to be brushed. It was largely a means of 
giving employment to the men, but it also saved time 
when paint was needed in a hurry. Enough paint to 
last a week or two was so mixed and when a few 
gallons were needed for a job the white paste was taken 
from the tub, thinned further and tinted any color 
wanted. 

Prince’s Mineral.—An iron oxide earth pigment color 
of reddish brown. Ground to paste form with linseed 
oil. It is thinned with linseed oil, turpentine and drier 
by the painter and used for rough factory surfaces 
—fences, roofs, barns, metal roofs and other metal sur- 
faces. It makes a paint which is both durable as to 
eolor and protection for the surface. 





CHAPTER Ix 
PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 


Progress in the development and manufacture of 
painting and decorating materials is rapid indeed. 
What may be written as an absolute fact today may be 
true only in part a few months hence. This: is true 
largely because more enterprising and open-minded 
men than those engaged in the paint, varnish and allied 
industries are not to be found in the marts of trade 
the world over. They deal with facts established by 
Science. As each new truth is uncovered it is subjected 
to the tests of science and of time. When established 
by both, few men fail to accept the step forward and 
prepare for the next step. : 

So it is with paint oils and thinners. We cannot say 
truthfully that this is completely good and that is 
hopelessly bad. There are qualifications for all paint 
materials. Conditions under which such materials are 
to be used are always a special consideration which de- 
termines values when the characteristics of any oils, 
paints, varnishes, enamels, ete. are being discussed. 

Purpose Served by Paint Oil.—A drying oil in paint 
Serves several purposes. In the first place it converts 
dry colors and dry basic paint pigments into a liquid 
State, thus making it practical to spread the pigments 
to a uniform thickness over the entire surface. The 
oil binds the pigment particles together and attaches 
them to the surface. The oil protects the pigments, 
provides a gloss finish and together the oil and pig- 


ments exclude moisture and air from the surface. 
203 


204 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


About Drying Orls—Quite a number of drying oils 
are known to chemistry and the manufacturing field. 

The outstanding oil which has greatest utility and 
value is linseed. It comes to the painter and decorator 
in several forms, such as raw, boiled, refined, bleached 
and what are called special oils. The other drying oils 
in common use are poppy-seed oil, China wood oil 
(tung oil), nut oil, parella cil, lumbang oil, sunflower- 
seed oil and a fish oil under the name of menhaden. 
There are other oils now going the rounds of chemical 
laboratories, but their commercial values have not been 
established. 

Painters and decorators need concern themselves with 
none of these oils, except linseed, poppy-seed and, pos- 
sibly, China wood (tung) oil. Linseed oil is used almost 
exclusively for exterior paints and, in small quantities, 
as the binder for interior paints. When used in white 
paints for interior decorating, linseed oil is likely to 
turn yellow, but will bleach out white again when sub- 
jected to strong light. Poppy-seed oil and nut oil are 
used with artists’ colors for pictorial painting and for 
some other special paints where the quality of extreme 
whiteness is valuable. China wood oil is used chiefly in 
the manufacture of certain kinds of varnish and flat 
wall paints for interior use. The balance of the drying 
oils are used for special purposes by manufacturers in 
the making of paints which require peculiar quality ; 
for instance, fish oil will withstand a great deal of heat, 
when mixed with a paint, without causing the paint to 
blister. Fish oil, therefore, is valuable for use in paint 
to be used on engines, smokestacks, metal roofs and 
radiators, which are subjected to high temperatures. 

There are some other oils classed as semi-drying oils 
which painters and decorators hear about, but which are 
of no use to them in their natural state. These oils are 
corn oil, cottonseed oil and soya-bean oil; all are classed 
as vegetable oils. They are used by manufacturers to 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 205 


some extent for admixture with linseed oil and driers 
in the grinding of paste paints and colors. 

Innseed Oil—Sold in barrels by weight. Manufac- 
turers and jobbers use 714 pounds as a standard gallon. 
The correct weight for a gallon of oil is 7.7 pounds 
(commonly stated as 734 pounds for convenience). A 
90-gallon barrel is therefore short about 114 gallons 
to pay for the barrel. A one-gallon measure will hold 
734 pounds, but when filled to the lip with oil con- 
gealed by a low temperature a gallon measure will hold 
as much as 8 pounds, 

Oil barrels are marked, not with the number of 
gallons of oil contained, but with a gross weight and 
a tare weight in pounds. The gross weight includes 
the weight of the barrel and its contents. Subtract the 
tare weight from the gross weight and you have the 
net weight of the oil contained in the barrel. Divide 
the net weight by 714 and the result is the number of 
gallons, figured by the commercial standard gallon. 

Linseed oil is the most extensively used paint oil, 
not only because of its valuable characteristics, but 
because it is obtainable in abundant quantities at mod- 
erate prices wherever flax is grown. The abundance of 
linseed oil naturally keeps the cost down to a moderate 
figure. It is generally understood the world over and, 
consequent!y, uniformly good results are secured from 
its use. Linseed oil is, of course, used extensively in 
the making of soap, linoleum and in many manufactur- 
ing processes by which all manner of merchandise is 
made. 

The manufacture of pure raw linseed oil is accom- 
plished by crushing flaxseed, known to some as linseed, 
between large steel rollers in mills constructed especially 
for the purpose. The oil is squeezed from the seed, 
allowed to settle and age in order.to remove the mucilag- 
inous matter which settles to the bottom of the tanks. 
The longer the oil is aged the better, but in the modern 


206 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


process of manufacture most of the mucilaginous mat- 
ter, called foots, is removed by filtering the oil while it 
is hot. 

Raw linseed oil is, as its name implies, a rather crude 
raw product, and when used in paints must have a 
drier added to it, usually, to make the paint dry rapidly 
enough during cool and damp weather. As a matter of 
fact, on outside painting it is customary to add drier to 
raw linseed oil in any weather, although during hot, dry 
seasons the oil will dry without the use of japan drier. 
There is always some risk that the paint will dry too 
slowly, without driers, to avoid the accumulations of 
dust, small flies or gnats in swarms. 

Boiled linseed oil is much to be preferred to raw oil 
when you can secure one of the brands made by a 
reputable manufacturer. The average manufacturer 
considers raw linseed oil simply as a commercial pro- 
duct, a commodity which must be made within certain 
standards of purity, to be sure; but boiled linseed oil is 
made with pride and especial care to give maximum 
results in drying and brushing qualities as well as in 
the matter of durability. 

A great many painters have steadfastly bought pure 
raw linseed oil because it offers less opportunity for 
unscrupulous manufacturers to cover up adulteration ; 
it is more difficult to detect the addition of dope oils to 
the boiled linseed oil. However, it is a better buying 
poley to secure high-class boiled linseed oil from a 
manufacturer of good reputation who makes advertised 
brands. Such an oil is an institution with the manu- 
facturer and he takes pride in setting up and main- 
taining a high standard of quality in his boiled oil. 
He makes an oil of uniform quality, doubly filtered and 
free from moisture and foots. With that kind of an 
oil, painters and decorators will get better results, have 
fewer painting problems, and even though the oil costs 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 207 


a few cents a gallon more than if raw oil were used, it 
will be a better investment. 

The mucilaginous matter, or foots, found in linseed 
oil is a substance which may appear in even the best fil- 
tered and prepared oil, because it is a substance formed 
by changes of temperature and it comes entirely from 
the oil itself. In other words, the best of care known to 
manufacturers may be exercised in the making of a pure 
linseed oil, either raw or boiled, and yet if the barrcl 
is subjected to many or extreme changes of temperature 
after it leaves the factory, the painter may find a con- 
siderable quantity of foots in the last few gallons drawn 
from the barrel. Foots do not constitute adulteration 
of the oil, and when they occur they can be returned 
to the reputable manufacturer and exchanged for clear 
oil without cost to the painter. 

In brands of high-grade boiled linseed oil most of the 
foots have been removed by heating, chilling and filter- 
ing. The oil when it leaves the factory is entirely suit- 
able for painting purposes. It is possible and practical 
to completely remove all foots from linseed oil; indeed, 
that is regularly done with oils made for special manu- 
facturing purposes. It requires a rather elaborate 
chemical process to remove all foots, and that makes the 
oil cost eight or ten cents per gallon more. For ordin- 
ary painting purposes there is no advantage in re- 
moving every trace of foots from the oil; at least, it is 
not worth the extra cost, generally speaking. 

If the painter will just be alert and not use any of 
the thick oil from the bottom of an occasional barrel 
containing foots, he will experience no difficulty. If 
this oil is used by a careless workman it may retard the 
drying of the paint, causing it to remain soft and tacky 
for a long time. Then it may become discolored by 
accumulations of dust or insect swarms. 

High-class boiled linseed oil is made by filtering and 
heating the raw oil in large tanks to 240 degrees of 


208 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


temperature. This is to eliminate the moisture. Then 
high quality drying substances, such as manganese, red 
lead, litharge, raw umber and cobalt driers are added 
while the oil is still hot to thoroughly incorporate them. 
After this the oil is cooled down and thoroughly filtered. 
The oil is not actually boiled, as the name would indi- 
cate, as that would require raising the temperature to 
600 degrees of heat. Such a high temperature will cause 
the oil to become thicker and darker in color. For all 
practical purposes raising the temperature to 240 de- 
erees is sufficient to eliminate the moisture. 

There is reason to be cautious in buying boiled linseed 
oil from any but the well known and firmly established 
manufacturers, because there has been a practice in- 
dulged in by some paint jobbers and others of making 
so-called boiled linseed oil which has not been high- 
grade material. This material has gained the name of 
bung-hole boiled oil, because it has been the practice of 
these firms to buy barrels of pure raw linseed oil, draw 
out a few gallons through the bung-hole and replace the 
pure linseed oil with driers of their own making. In 
some instances adulterated oils have been put into the 
barrels because they were cheaper. This is bound to be 
inferior oil, even when these men start with pure, raw 
linseed oil and have no intention of doping it. They 
have not adequate manufacturing facilities to make 
good boiled linseed oil, and even if good driers were 
added they would not be thoroughly incorporated when 
put into the barrel in this manner with the cold oil. In 
other words, to make the oil right they would have to 
remove it from the barrels, heat and filter it and thor- 
oughly incorporate the driers. They are not equipped 
to do that. 

When the makers of bung-hole boiled oil add cheaper 
oils, like deodorized fish oil and mineral oil, to pure 
linseed oil in order to increase their profits, the painter 
is likely to have considerable trouble with his paints 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 209 


_ because they are slow drying or remain soft and tacky 
indefinitely. In the case of white paints the adulterated 
oils may cause the paint to turn yellow. 

Authorities on the subject of paint oils have looked 
diligently for a cheaper oil than :inseed oil and one that 
would be just as good or better. They nave not found 
one available in sufficient quantities up to this time. 
When such an oil is found, and has been proven by a 
few years of testing to be equal to the job, you will hear 
all about it from the paint trade in general and the 
reputable manufacturer. 

As a general proposition, paint oils offered as a sub- 
stitute for linseed oil for outside house paints are valu- 
able only in proportion to the amount of pure linseed 
oil they contain. 

To the average painter or decorator pure linseed oil 
is all alike, but as a matter of fact there are differences, 
even though the prices are all about the same. It is 
therefore a wise policy to select a brand of boiled linseed 
oil of known quality made by one of the manufacturers 
who has an acknowledged reputable standing in the 
trade, and therefore secure oil which is uniform in 
quality from the beginning of the year to the end. You 
will do your mixing of paint after certain set formulas 
which you may have in print, or simply in your head 
from long practice, and it is obvious that any formula 
will give you better results if the basic materials speci- 
fied in the formula are always of the same quality as to 
the small content of foots, uniform color and absence of 
moisture. There is some ground for doubting that 
painters can mix as durable or as uniform paint by using 
pure, raw linseed oil and japan drier as by using the oil 
produced by manufacturers of high-class boiled linseed 
oil. By using boiled linseed oil you avoid the risk of 
having careless painters adding too much drier to your 
raw linseed oil, thus wasting the drier which is expen- 
sive and injuring the paint. Of course, japan drier 





210 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


should always be measured before adding a quantity to 
your paint, but it is only human for a painter to guess 
at it. If he has good judgment, guessing is all right, but 
many workmen are careless about this. 

It should be perfectly obvious, of course, that where 
there is any question about the high quality of the 
boiled linseed oil at hand it is much better to use pure 
raw oil with the addition of good japan drier. 

The preference for raw or boiled linseed oil will be 
found to vary considerably in different parts of the 
country. Something more than half of the total amount 
of linseed oil in the United States is boiled. In some 
sections almost 100 per cent boiled oil is used, while in 
others raw oil is used in the largest proportion, depend- 
ing somewhat upon habits and training of the painters. 

There is just one certain way to secure a dependable 
linseed oil, either raw or boiled—that is, to buy from 
one of the reputable manufacturers of such products. 
Following is a list of the manufacturers of pure linseed 
oil. In several states laws have been enacted which 
require manufacturers of linseed oil to attach labels 
to the barrels, or cans, which read ‘‘pure linseed oil.’’ 
Such a label, which carries the name of a reliable 
manufacturer and his address is assurance in these 
states that the oil is pure. 

American Linseed Co., New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis. 

National Lead Co.’s Brands—‘‘ Atlantiec,’’ ‘‘John T. Lewis 

& Bros:'Co,,77 *! Duteh Baye 

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., Minneapolis. 

Hirst & Begley Linseed Works, Chicago. 

Kelloggs & Miller, Amsterdam, N. Y. 

Mann Bros. & Co., Buffalo, N. Y. 

Spencer Kellogg & Sons, Buffalo, N. Y. 

Minnesota Linseed Oil Co.. Minneapolis, Minn. 

Red Wing Linseed Co., Red Wing, Minn. 

Sherwin-Williams Co., Cleveland, O. 

Fredonia Linseed Oil Works, Fredonia, Kan. 

Pacific Oil & Lead Works, San Francisco, Cal. 


Wm. O. Goodrich & Co., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Bisbee Linseed Co., Philadelphia. 


How Ow Dries—China wood oil apparently dries 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 211 


simultaneously from bottom to top,—that is, it seems 
to get hard and solid through the whole thickness of the 
film at once. Linseed oil on the other hand dries by 
absorbing oxygen from the air and since more oxygen 
is available on the outer surface a dry skin forms on the 
outer surface first and the drying proceeds from the 
outside in toward the surface of the wood or metal upon 
which the oil or paint is spread. This is true whether 
the oil is raw or boiled, but the skin is formed more 
quickly by the boiled oil. Apparently the boiled oil 
dries first but actually it does not,—the drying is going 
on all the while under the top skin. 

Testing Linseed Oil.—There has been a great deal of 
idle talk and useless writing in the painting business 
for years about tests for this material and that, for 
everything used in the business. Much of. it has 
amounted to amateurs attempting to perform chemical 
analyses without any education in the science of chemis- 
try. 

Some simple tests for comparing physical or mechan- 
ical properties of materials are both interesting and 
instructive, as well as useful to be sure. For instance, 
rubbing a paint pigment or a color out on a piece of 
glass with a knife to note whether it is coarse, gritty or 
crystalline in texture. And then on looking through 
the glass and pigments at strong light to note how 
opaque the paint is usually reveals facts which are 
both dependable and useful. The simple tests for de- 
termining the purity of white lead, using matches or a 
blow-pipe, charcoal and an alcohol lamp are dependable. 

Among the quite useless tests are those which are 
conducted by amateurs to determine the purity of 
linseed oil. One of them is that of putting a few 
drops of the oil in the palm of the hand. Then by 
rubbing your palms together rapidly enough to heat the 
oil by friction a strong odor of the oil is given off. Pure 
oil is sure to give off the peculiar odor of linseed oil 

















212 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


cake. The test is also supposed to enable you to detect 
the odor of fish oil or mineral oil if such adulterants 
were used in extending the linseed oil. But what makes 
this interesting little test quite useless is the fact that 
fish oil is now so perfectly refined as to be entirely with- 
out the fishy odor and its color is also cleared up and 
changed. Those attempting adulteration of oil in this 
day are clever enough to do it so well that simple tests 
will not reveal their scheme. 

Then there are many other tests indulged in like 
magic,—the placing of a drop of sulphuric acid on a 
film of oil on a piece of glass,—called the spot test. If 
the acid burns a clean hole through the oil film, leaving 
a round brown spot it is supposed to prove that the oil 
is pure, but if the spot of acid spreads like a cobweb, the 
oil is said to be impure. The test doesn’t prove any- 
thing—it works both ways. 

And there’s the bottle test. Oil put into a clean 
bottle and shaken well is supposed to show bubbles with 
brightly colored hues when the oil has been doped. But 
again, as the skeptics say,—it’s interesting if true. 

The hard facts are that only men with professional 
training in chemistry and with proper laboratory facil- 
ities are in position to make tests of linseed oil and 
arrive at results which are dependable. If your edu- 
eation has given you enough training in chemistry to 
enable you to understand and conduct the chemical tests 
indicated in the following specifications you may profit- 
ably spend time testing linseed oil. Otherwise, you will 
profit more by buying only oil made by manufacturers 
of known reputation for delivering pure oil. It’s inter- 
esting for amateurs to fuss with chemistry, but the time 
so spent should be charged up to entertainment and 
should not be allowed to influence one’s business buying 
policy. 

In the testing of linseed oil chemists determine certain 
physical and chemical values. Oils made from flax seed 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 213 


grown in different parts of the world show somewhat 
different properties. Oil made from North American 
flax seed has been carefully studied by a committee of 
the American Society for Testing Materials. The speci- 
fications issued by this society for pure raw and pure 
boiled linseed oil made from North American seed are 
these : 
Raw Linseed Oil 





Maximum Minimum 


15.5 deg. C 
emieceerayity: ot ———— 0.936 0.932 
15.5 deg. C 
25 deg. C 
Specific gravity at ———_-_____ . .931 eed 
| 25 deg. C 
OS TO 6 aie 
Saponification number ........ 195 189 


Unsaponifiable matter, per cent . 1.50 Nise 
Refractive index at 25 deg. C ... 1.4805 1.4790 
Jodine number (Hanus) ....... ree 180 





Boiled Linseed Oil 





Maximum Minimum 


15.5 deg. C 
Specine pravity-at ——__——_—_—_ . 0.945 0.937 
15.5 deg. C 
(0 OSG le cr 8 ein 
Saponification number ........ 195 189 


Unsaponifiable matter, per cent . 1.5 
Refractive index at 25 deg. C ... 1.484 1.479 


Jodine number (Hanus) ....... ge 178 
NE ECS ie ut 
Manganese, per cent .......... veh a 
Seeremeeaper Cent 6... c. ese sa 3 2 
Pe IGT CONG Fo cee eceice ec se 03 











214 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Paint Defects Caused by Adulterated Oils —Whether 
any ill effects result from the use of doped oil depends 
upon conditions. Even as much as a 25 per cent adul- 
teration with some semi-drying or even non-drying oils 
may not show any immediate defects, if the oil is used in 
paint on very soft, spongy or weather-beaten wood when 
the temperature is high and ventilation is good. But a 
very slight adulteration will sometimes give no end of 
trouble when such oil is used in paint spread over hard, 
non-absorbent surfaces like pitch pine, cypress, metal, 
ete. The extent and kind of adulteration, the weather 
and surface conditions, therefore, govern the result. 

The ill effects resulting from the use of adulterated 
linseed oil are these, principally: 

Tacky and non-drying of paint; paint has been known 
to remain soft and tacky for two or more years where 
doped oil was used. 

Discoloration of painted surfaces often results from 
tacky paint containing doped oil. The paint accumu- 
lates dust, smoke, soot or insects lodge in the paint 
greatly discoloring it. 

Oil doped with mineral oil will turn white paint 
yellow. 

More than a dozen years ago the adulteration of lin- 
seed oil was quite common, but with the advent of the 
Federal Trade Commission and the active co-operation 
of the manufacturers who are members of the National 
Paint, Oil and Varnish Association, Ine., this detri- 
mental practice has been almost but not completely 
eliminated. 7 

Prepared Paint Owls ——Of recent years a number of 
paint oils have been sold which appear to be giving good 
service. These are specially prepared oils made by 
reputable and skilled paint and varnish manufacturers, 
using China wood oil or soya bean oil after refining 
treatment of the raw or crude oils. These are called 
reinforcing oils and are used in prepared paints, 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 215 


largely. Such reinforcing oils are offered to the painter 
and when China wood oil or soya-bean oil is correctly 
treated by the manufacturers to make it suitable “and 
sold by responsible firms they are worth careful trial 
and study. 

Perilla Ow.—Produced from seeds of perilla which 
grows in China, Japan and India. While it is a drying 
oil and appears in the American market in a very lim- 
ited way, it is not used in a commercial way in the paint 
industry. Tests made of this oil by the American 
Society for Testing Materials and the Paint Manufac- 
turers’ Association resulted in its being considered 
superior to linseed oil by some. Perilla oil is considered 
of a high commercial value as a paint and varnish 
material in the Orient. The cultivation of the plant is 
being introduced into the United States. 

China Wood Oil (Tung).—The use and popularity of 
this oil has increased greatly in the last ten years, and 
while the decorator and painter do not come in contact 
with it often as an oil, they do use vast quantities of it 
as part of interior flat wall paint and varnishes. 

From China wood oil a varnish is made which dries 
flat and is the principal liquid of flat wall paints. Al- 
though this oil is not extensively used in paints for 
general purposes, it may be so used in the future. It is 
used in making marine paints today, because of : its 
ability to withstand the action of salt air and salt water. 

China wood oil comes from the Orient and is made 
from nuts of certain trees. Unlike most oils, it dries 
with a flat, waxlike appearance and is not transparent 
when dry. It has an odor which is not forgotten easily, 


though it is not unpleasant. This oil is not used in its. 


raw state, but is usually cooked with resins or such 
drying substances as manganese, lead oxides, red lead, 
litharge or cobalt, and then thinned with turpentine or 
mineral spirits. The cooking causes China wood oil to 
dry with a gloss, rather than the flat appearance of the 











216 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


raw oil. This oil is used in the making of some excellent 
varnishes. 

China wood oil is one of the best drying oils known. 
It requires only about one day to dry, whereas linseed 
oil requires about three days and poppy seed oil re- 
quires from two to five days. 

This oil has remarkable waterproofing properties. 
It is used for this purpose extensively in China for 
such as paper umbrellas, boats, ete. To the submerged 
bottoms of boats the oil is put on hot, but cold oil is 
used on the exposed areas above water. This oil has 
been used in building forts with tri-partite earth, lime, 
sand, oil and clay, making a material almost as tough as 
granite. And the peculiar value of the wood from this 
tree makes it very desirable for the manufacture of 
lutes. Insects do not attack it. 

China wood oil ought not to be used in the raw state, 
as it dries opaque and not smooth but crinkly. When 
the oil is boiled without drier at 230 degrees F. it 
can be used the same as linseed oil and dries trans- 
parent. One of the first difficulties encountered in hand- 
ling this oil was that above a temperature of about 400 
degrees F’. it was likely to go with great rapidity into a 
jelly, which was insoluble with the known oil solvents 
and consequently became useless. Linseed oil can be 
raised to a temperature of 600 degrees. It is thought 
that this oil should not be used alone, but in combination 
with linseed oil. When so used the China wood oil im- 
parts the hardness and non-porosity, while the linseed 
oil contributes the elasticity. 

Soya-Bean Oil.—A vegetable oil made from soya 
beans, grown extensively in Manchuria and Korea, and 
to some extent in the United States as animal feed. 
Soya beans belong to the same family as the ordinary 
pea and bean. This oil dries very slowly and makes a 
soft film. The cost of it is low compared to linseed oil, 
and it is, therefore, used sometimes to adulterate linseed 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 217 


oil. Soya-bean oil is in rather general use by manufac- 
turers in the paint industry for prepared materials, but 
is not used by painters and decorators as a raw oil. 
Chemists say that as much as 25 per cent of soya-bean 
oil ean be added to linseed oil for painting purposes 
without injury to the film. Certain colors ground in 
soya-bean oil appear to be more satisfactory than when 
ground in linseed oil. 

Menhaden Fish Oil.—Produced from menhaden fish, 
mostly. Considered a drying oil and recommended by 
the chemists for use in smokestack and metal roof paints 
and for paints subjected to moist, salt air. It will not 
blister the paint on hot surfaces. 

Kerosene and Petroleum Oils.—Except benzine, these 
oils serve no good purpose in paints used by the painter 
and decorator, as they are non-drying liquids. They are 
used for certain special metal paints where a small 
quantity of these oils is needed to retard the hard dry- 
ing of the paint, but they should be used only by expert 
manufacturers who know exactly what to do and how. 

Kerosene used by painters and decorators is quite 
certain to cause trouble with tacky paint. It will turn 
white paint yellow. Some marine painters claim to have 
used kerosene successfully on wood boats, but it is more 
than likely that they had more good luck than good sense. 

Creosote Oil.—An oil distilled from coal tar and 
which is heavier than water. It is also called heavy 
oil and dead oil in some industries. 

Its outstanding value is as a preservative of wood, 
and so it is known as a base for shingle stains. 

The odor of creosote oil is a strong characteristic and 
one not likely to be forgotten easily. 

When not carefully refined for use in stains, creosote 
oil is apt to throw down a sediment in cold weather. 
This settling or separation of color and liquid can be 
overcome when the manufacturer exercises due care in 


a 





a pe yaa 





218 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


chilling and filtering the oil before permitting its use in 
stains. 

Turpentine-—One gallon of turpentine weighs 7.2 
pounds, but a commercial standard gallon is called 634 
pounds. This is probably the most important volatile 
thinner used by the painting trades for paints and var- 
nishes. It is manufactured by distilling the resin of 
the long-leaf pine trees of America. Rosin also results 
from the distillation of the sap of pine trees. At first 
turpentine was made only from the resin or gum ob- 
tained from the tree, and that product is now known 
aS gum turpentine. Turpentine is also extracted from 
the sawdust and stumps by steam distillation or de- 
structive distillation of the wood and is known as wood 
turpentine. 

Wood turpentine has a disagreeable odor if not very 
carefully refined and usually is not so uniform in 
quality. The odor can be removed to a satisfactory de- 
gree and the characteristics of wood turpentine can be 
refined to approach closely those of gum turpentine. 

Turpentine has certain very valuable solvent and flat- 
ting properties for paint and varnish products. The 
painter and decorator finds that when mixed with white 
and colored pigments it makes a paint which flows well, 
penetrates and dries without gloss. 

The ability to penetrate into the pores of a surface is 
one of the outstanding virtues of turpentine. Pure 
turpentine evaporates almost completely after it has 
made the paint fluid, assisted in spreading the pigment 
to cover the surface uniformly and to penetrate it. But 
turpentine is not a binder in itself; on evaporation it 
leaves the pigment about as it was before it entered the 
paint, except that the pigment is more closely packed. 

Turpentine has two objectionable properties for use 
inside of buildings; one, its very strong odor, which 
nauseates some people and is objectionable to a great 
many; the other is the ill effects turpentine causes on 








PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 219 


one’s kidneys. Unless decorators are unusually careful 
about securing ample ventilation when working with 
turpentine, they are apt to feel such ill effects as will 
prevent them from using turpentine for interior work. 
That is why many painters prefer benzine and appear 
to produce quite as good results with it on interior 
decorating. Benzine should not be used in place of 
turpentine for exterior painting. | 


Among the spirit thinners turpentine evaporates most: 


slowly, more slowly than benzine or gasoline and very 
much more slowly than alcohol and benzol. Some of 
the especially distilled mineral spirits evaporate quite as 
slowly as turpentine. Sometimes turpentine is adul- 
terated with non-volatile petroleum oils. 

Turpentine oxidizes (takes on oxygen from the air 
like linseed oil) to some extent and assists the drying of 
paint. And while pure turpentine evaporated from a 
dish apparently leaves no residue, chemical analysis of 
paints containing turpentine recovers less of it saMeds 
put into the paint. A bit of rosin from the turpentine 
must, therefore, remain in the paint. On the other 
hand, all the benzine put into paint can be recovered by 
chemical analysis. 

Turpentine Subsitutes—These spirit liquids are 
usually mineral spirits made from Texas petroleum 
having an asphaltic base. They vary considerably in 
their properties as to specific gravity, flash point, ability 
as solvents and how completely they evaporate. The 
best grades should evaporate completely during drying, 
have good solvent power and cause no precipitation of 
gums or polymerized oil in paint and varnish. For the 
use of painters and decorators the mineral spirits 
having a flash point near that of turpentine are less of 
a fire risk and are the most desirable for that reason. 
In these petroleum spirits having satisfactory volatility 
and solvent power there may still be differences which 
cause satisfactory or unsatisfactory flowing, spreading 





SS 


—————— 








220 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and general brush-working qualities in varnish, enamels 
and paints. 

Mineral Spirits—Petroleum from the Ohio and Penn- 
sylvania oil fields has a paraffin base, while petroleum 
from the Texas oil fields has an asphaltic base. 

Benzines of a higher gravity, and which evaporate 
more slowly, are made from Texas petroleum rather 
than from petroleum having a paraffin base. These 
henzines from Texas petroleum are called mineral 
spirits and they ean be distilled to dry quite as slowly as 
turpentine. 

Careful regulation of fractional distillation of petro- 
leum with a paraffin base, however, produces mineral 
spirits similar to such benzines made from asphaltic 
petroleum. 

Mineral spirits are not as satisfactory as pure tur- 
pentine for thinning japan colors or varnishes. In 
short oil varnishes this thinner will precipitate the var- 
nish if used in any but very small amounts. For use 
with most flat paints and oil paints the best brands of 
mineral spirit substitutes for turpentine are very Ssatis- 
factory. Such thinner is cheaper and less disagreeable 
to handle for thinning paints being applied with spray 
guns. 

Benzine.—While this spirit is a petroleum product, it 
is an exception to the rule against the use of this class 
in paint. It is a volatile thinner which evaporates more 
or less completely after it has served the purpose of 
making the paint liquid so that it can be spread uni- 
formly thick over a surface. 

Benzine is a distilled, colorless liquid made from 
crude petroleum. It has a gravity of from 55 to 72 de- 
grees by Baume hydrometer while gasoline, the lighter 
product from the same base, shows a gravity of from 
60 to 62 degrees Baume. The heavier oils, like fuel oil 
and lubricating oils, are distilled from the same petro- 
leum base. 


PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 221 


Painters have been criticised for years because of 
their use of benzine, but such criticism has seldom been 
justified. Once in a while a lazy painter will add too 
much benzine to outside paint in order to make it brush 
onto the surface easier, but he usually gets caught soon 
enough, because the paint then dries without gloss. 

Benzine has many good uses in a paint shop aside 
from its value for washing surfaces, brushes and pots. 
For flat wall finishing and in the hands of skilled deco- 
rators it serves quite as well as turpentine. It will, of 
course, cause the paint to brush out ‘‘short’’ and to 
‘nile up’? if not properly mixed as to proportion 
with oil. 

Benzine has no place in exterior house paints be- 
cause it does not possess the same ability as turpentine 
to penetrate the pores of the surface. 

While benzine used in large amounts in rooms with- 
out ventilation causes ill effects—a ‘‘benzine jag’’+—as 
the painters call it, as generally used in place of tur- 
pentine it is far safer, less harmful to health and 
pleasanter. 

Do not confuse benzine—(spelled with an ‘‘1’’)—with 
benzene. Benzine is a petroleum product, but benzene 
is similar to benzol and toluol, which are definite com- 
pounds derived from the light oil of coal tar. 

Benzol.—A light oil distillate from coal tar which is 
a volatile spirit with a boiling point of 82 degrees C 
(180 degrees F). A powerful solvent of gums, resins, 
oils and varnishes. Sometimes called 160 degree sol- 
vent naphtha. Used by painters to add to paint for pitch 
pine surfaces or to brush on to such resin filled wood 
to cut the resin and give the paint an opportunity to 
penetrate and anchor itself. 

Solvent Naphtha—A distillate of light oil from coal 
tar. It boils principally between 130 degrees C (266 
degrees F) and 160 degrees C (320 degrees F). 

Solvent naphtha is commonly known to painters and 


222 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


decorators as 160 degree benzol and is used by them in 
small amounts occasionally in exterior paint to be 
spread on to pitch pine or other woods the pores of 
which are completely filled with resin or an oily sub- 
stance. 

Solvent naphtha is less volatile (it evaporates more 
slowly) than benzol or toluol. 

The excellent properties of solvent naphtha, as a sol- 
vent for bituminous paints, varnishes, gums, oils and 
resins has made it widely used in the paint and var- 
nish industry. It is a common ingredient in paint and 
varnish removers and in substitutes for turpentine. 

Amyl Acetate (banana oil).—This is the oil used 
commonly as the vehicle and binder for bronze paints 
—called bronzing liquid. 

Amyl acetate, amyl alcohol and methyl alcohol are 
solvents used by manufacturers in _ nitrocellulose 
lacquers and, while painters and decorators read men- 
tion of them occasionally, there is little or no use for 
them as such in the ordinary course of business. 

Alcohol (ethyl, grain, methyl, wood).—That used 
by painters is almost entirely denatured alcohol. It is 
grain or ethyl alcohol to which poisons are added 
(usually 5 per cent of wood alcohol and 5 per cent ben- 
zine or other petroleum distillate) according to govern- 
ment requirements, to denature it and make it unfit for 
human consumption. | 

Painters use denatured alcohol for many purposes,— 
for thinning shellac, for washing up wood trim after 
an old finish has been stripped off with liquid varnish 
removers and for mixing with water stains to secure 
penetration. 

Wood alcohol (which is methyl alcohol) is not so ex- 
tensively used. It is a powerful solvent of varnish 
and paint films and is used to some extent as a remover 
of these coatings. Wood alcohol is also a deadly poison. 

Grain aleohol which has been denatured with 10 per 


PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 223 


cent of wood alcohol (methyl) is called methylated 
spirits. 

Special denatured alcohol like methylated spirits can 
be used only under bond in the United States and by 
manufacturers who are bound to use it for manufac- 
turing purposes only and for sale as part of a finished 
product,—shellac is such a product. Grain alcohol 
is best to cut shellac but the special methylated spirits 
is next best for the purpose. 

Driers.—Such metals as lead, manganese, cobalt, cal- 
cium,.iron and zine put into chemical compound solu- 
tions and added to drying oils hasten the drying of 
these liquids. Certain drying pigments,—red lead, lead 
acetate (sugar of lead) and litharge are also used. Lin- 
seed oil becomes dry by taking up oxygen from the air. 
The addition of drier speeds the rate of absorption of 
oxygen by the oil. 

In the trade driers are listed as driers, oil driers, 
japan driers and as japans. The name on the can or 
barrel may not fairly indicate what class of drier will 
be found in the container, however, because these names 
are used rather indiscriminately. 

Japan drier is a liquid most commonly made from 
solutions of lead and manganese salts, neutral linseed 
oil, resin or gum and turpentine or mineral spirits. It 
should dry to a hard film well attached to the surface 
when spread alone on a piece of glass for testing. Some 
such driers are made very light in color for white paints, 
but most of them are dark brown. Lead acetate (sugar 
of lead) and litharge are principally used in making 
the white or light colored driers. 

Oil driers when properly made contain no gums or 
resins and do not dry to a hard film. As a rule oil 
driers made of both lead and manganese salts as an 
oleate are considered better than resinate driers and 
japans. A manganese drier will expand while drying 
and resists moisture better than lead driers. But, on 


9) 


224 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


the other hand, driers made from lead salts, while they 
contract on drying, will withstand heat better. The 
usual manufacturing practice, therefore, is to use both 
lead and manganese salts to gain the virtues of both. 

Some oils and pigments dry naturally to a greater or 
lesser degree in their own time. To hasten this drying, 
to make semi-drying liquids dry hard, driers are essen- 
tial. And, generally, driers are needed to make the use 
of paint, varnish and other decorative and protective 
coatings dry within a reasonable time and with a hard 
surface having no tacky or sticky character. 

Without the use of drier in paint during hot, humid 
or cold, wet weather, the paint may dry so slowly that 
dust, flies or gnats in swarms may accumulate on the 
paint and disfigure it. | 

As a matter of convenience it is essential that paint 
and varnish dry within a reasonable time to permit 
workmen to proceed with a job from day to day with 
one coat after another; and fairly rapid drying is essen- 
tial, too, so that decorating done in buildings where 
people must continue to live and work will not soil 
clothes and persons. 

For practical purposes, then, driers are essential in 
paint, varnish and other decorative and protective ma- 
terials, but the durability or life of the coating is less- 
ened by the use of driers. Therefore the use of the 
least amount of drier which will serve the purpose is 
always the proper guide when a coating is expected to 
be durable. As a general principle it may be said that 
the quickest drying coatings are the least durable; the 
slower drying the most durable. 

This is readily understood when you know that the 
final destruction of a paint film is the result of oxida- 
tion. A substance like driers, which speeds the drying 
of paint, then, by that very fact, makes the life of that 
paint shorter. 

This principle is of vital importance as a guide in 


PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 225 


mixing exterior paints used as a protective coating on 
any surface. The use of too large a quantity of drier 
simply burns out the life of the oil and destruction of 
the paint film proceeds rapidly. It is for this reason 
that well informed master painters use a high grade 
boiled linseed oil and permit their journeymen painters 
to use no japan driers; a careless use of too large a 
quantity of japan drier with raw linseed oil is thus 
avoided. The use of japan drier which is not very 
Strong overcomes this risk to some extent, but even 
then the careless workman simply guesses that even a 
larger quantity is needed, and so continues the abuse. 
Every ounce of driers used ought to be measured, but 
in actual practice the man who measures quantities of 
any material is a rare fellow in the painting business. 

The use of driers in interior paints is quite another 
proposition. Durability is not, relatively, an important 
consideration. The paint will wear out from abrasion, 
or be repainted because it has become soiled or because 
a change of color is wanted, and so the life of the liquid 
binder ealls for little consideration. 

Paint Removers.—To remove paint from wood, metal 
and other surfaces we have recourse to three methods. 
It may be scraped off with steel scraping knives and 
sandpaper,—it may be burned with a torch paint burner 
and scraped off or it may be removed with a paste or 
hquid paint remover composed of chemicals which cut 
through and soften the paint enough to be scraped 
off. Formulas for paint and varnish removers are num- 
erous, but many are not worth a thought. Some of the 
best of them are included in this section. 

Painters are constantly seeking formulas for re- 
movers which can be made up at a lower cost per gallon 
than must be paid for the patented prepared removers 
sold by manufacturers and dealers. Once all the facts 
in the case are known the wise painter will not waste 
much time in this pursuit. 


226 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


The cost of factory made removers is determined by 
the cost of the ingredients largely. The principal in- 
eredient in the best removers is acetone and acetone is 
expensive. Most of the removers are made under one 
patent license and are very much like each other. The 
higher priced removers and the most effective have a 
large percentage of acetone in them while the cheaper 
and less effective removers have little or no acetone 
but rather depend upon wood alcohol as the solvent. 
Most of the removers contain wax or a similar sub- 
stance which serves to hold the acetone or alcohol 
solvent on the surface for a longer time, thus making 
them more effective. Acetone, alcohol, benzole and 
similar solvents are very volatile,—that is, they evapo- 
rate and disappear speedily, unless retarded with wax. 
It is the use of wax in this connection which is the 
basis for the patent. 

Paint removers are not used in large quantities, or 
at least not for large areas of surfaces. When large 
areas must be stripped sandpaper, scrapers and the 
paint burners are used. For stripping off paint and 
varnish from cabinet woods, furniture, fixtures, wood 
trim, ete., it 1s most convenient to use the prepared and 
patented removers sold for the purpose and it pays 
to buy the better quality removers. With wages at their 
present level a workman can easily waste more than 
enough time with home made removers to fully pay for 
enough patented remover to do the job. Time and 
labor costs are what count for most in the cost of doing 
most painting and decorating jobs, so these are the first 
elements to keep in mind when considering ways and 
means of reducing the cost of any materials. The 
factory made removers of the better class do their 
work with speed; they are harmless to handle since they 
do not burn the skin;—they are convenient and do not 
injure the wood, the tools or clothing. 

The handling of removers made with eaustic soda, 


PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 227 


lye, hydrochloric acid and some other chemicals must 
be done with extreme care, because they burn the skin 
and clothing. Rubber gloves are needed. Then the 
handling of fusel oil, strong ammonia and some other 
chemicals with very strong odors is a disagreeable task, 
since they not only effect the nose but the eyes. The 
fumes from hydrochlorie acid, for instance, are very 
injurious to health. Then the mixing of chemicals must 
be understood. For example when mixing sulphuric 
acid with water it is very dangerous to pour the water 
into a quantity of acid because an explosion occurs 
and scatters the acid in all directions. The acid must 
be put into the water a few drops at a time and even 
then an intense heat is set up. The mixing is usually 
done in a glass or earthen vessel submerged part way in 
cold water. And again, if quite a little water is put 
into a glass bottle with a number of sticks of caustic 
soda the intense heat from the chemical action will 
break the glass. The water must be added a little at 
a time. 

The following formulas are those used in furniture 
factories and elsewhere. They have been used with suc- 
cess where large numbers of school desks and similar 
surfaces were to be stripped off by painters before re- 
finishing : 


Remover Formula No. 1 


20 ounces caustic soda (98% strength) 

100 ounces of water 
Dissolve the caustic soda in the water a 
little at a time 

20 ounces mineral oil (light machine oil) 

20 ounces fine sawdust 
Mix the oil into the water and soda by 
stirring well until an emulsion is formed, 
then stir in the sawdust well. Run the 
whole mass through a paint mill or mixer 


bY o> YS 


5 


HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and use the paste while fairly wet. A\l- 
low time enough for the remover to work, 
then scrape off the softened paint and 
clean up the surface thoroughly with 
water in which a little vinegar has been 
mixed to neutralize any soda left on the 
surface. 


Remover Formula No. 2 


pounds caustic soda (98%) 

gallon water—dissolve the soda in the 
water . 

pounds bolted whiting 

pounds corn starch 

Mix thoroughly and use as a wet paste. 
Add more water if needed. Apply with 
old brushes, let stand long enough to 
soften the paint and scrape off. Use 
rubber gloves. Wash up with water and 
a little vinegar should be mixed into the 
water to neutralize the soda that may be 
left on the wood in the pores. Such soda 
would destroy new coats of paint or var- 
nish if not washed off or neutralized. 


Remover Formula No. 3 


ounces benzole of 90 degree strength 
ounces fusel oil 
ounce wood alcohol 


Remover Formula No. 4 


quarts benzole, 90 degree strength 


21,4 pints acetone 
14 pint earbon bisulphide 


9 


al 


ounces paraffine wax 
Mix the benzole and acetone, then add the 
last two items in the order given. 


PAINT OILS, THINNERS, DRIERS AND REMOVERS 


Remover Formula No. 3 


1 gallon benzole, 90 degree strength 

1 pint fusel oil 

1 pint acetone 

11% ounces paraffine wax 
Mix the benzole and fusel oil, add the 
acetone and finally the wax. 


229 


CHAPTER X 
METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 


Sucu exterior surfaces as are constructed of metal 
are sometimes difficult to paint to assure permanent 
coatings and ,to avoid scaling. Each metal has its 
peculiarities and so each will be considered separately. 

Here are the surfaces which commonly engage the . 
house painter’s attention: : 

Galvanized Iron Roofs, Gutters, Rain Spouts, 
Walls and Garages 

Copper Roof Decks, Spouts, Gutters, Store 
Fronts and Window Screens ~ 

Zine Roof Decks, Gutters, Spouts, ete. 

Structural Steel, Steel Window Frames and 
Sash, Steel Doors and Frames, Fences, 
Posts, Tanks, Stacks, Masts, Window Grat- 
ings, Porch and Stair Pipe Rails, Furniture, 
Fixtures, Conveyor Machinery, Bridges and 
Fire Escapes 

Iron Ornamental Work, Radiators, Pipes, Ma- 
chines and Water Plugs 

Metal Corrosion (rust).—Iron and steel result from 
the manufacturing processes of man. Iron ore as 
mined is mixed by nature with many substances. Iron 
has a powerful affinity, an attraction for certain other 
elements in nature, particularly for oxygen. Pure iron 
unmixed with other elements is never found in the 
natural state. When iron is purified in the chemical 
laboratory it must be sealed up free from contact with 


other substances. If not kept sealed up it instantly 
; 230 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 231 


absorbs other elements from the air and moisture. By 
such absorbing of other elements iron reverts to its 
original state;—as we say, it rusts or corrodes, By 
so doing it becomes iron oxide. Some of our tinting 
colors are oxides of iron,—Venetian red is perhaps the 
best known of these. 

So we see that unless iron and steel are protected 
from contact with air and moisture by suitable paint 
they are constantly undergoing chemical destruction 
—a return to natural oxides, the mere red dust we call 
rust. 

More than one theory is advanced to explain the 
rusting of iron and steel, but no matter what your 
theory of the cause of rusting, it is well settled that 
moisture starts the corroding action which forms rust. 
Some paints retard and some accelerate corrosion, but 
the long and the short of the problem is that to pre- 
vent rusting the painter must coat the surface with 
paint which will do two things—(a) stick permanently 
to the metal, (b) keep out moisture. And the paint 
which performs these two functions in the most nearly 
perfect manner is the best paint, other things being 
equal. 
Considering the causes of corrosion, the rusting of 
iron and steel, it is interesting to note the facts that 
these metals do not rust unless moisture is present in 
the air nor in water unless air is present. Other ele- 
ments in the air, especially near large cities, accelerate 
rusting of metals. The air of industrial communities 
is usually charged with coal smoke and many gases 
which speed corrosion of iron and steel. Sulphur 
dioxide and soot are no doubt the most destructive be- 
cause together and in the presence of moisture they 
tend to form sulphuric acid. 

Other facts of interest in connection with the paint- 
ing of metal are these :—steel rusts more quickly than 
iron. Wrought iron doesn’t rust at all. Iron and steel 


232 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


are destroyed by corrosion more rapidly than wood is 
destroyed by decay and rot. When you paint over 
rust without removing it to the bright metal, the rusting 
continues. <A coat of clear linseed oil over bright steel 
permits enough moisture to go through to rust the steel. 
The addition of pigments waterproofs the oil. 

Atlantic City Paint Tests—About 1908 an outdoor 
exposure test was made of various paints to determine 
the rust-proofing values and general qualities of metal 
paints. These tests were conducted by the American 
Society for Testing Materials in co-operation with the 
Paint Manufacturers’ Association of the United States. 

Atlantie City, N. J., was selected as a locality which 
is especially destructive of paint protective coatings. 
It was thought that results of the tests would be ap- 
parent here in the shortest time. 

Each paint tested was spread on a steel plate. There 
were 300 such plates and over fifty paints. All were 
assembled to form a test fence. Three coats of each 
paint were applied to each plate after carefully clean- 
ing it. Plenty of time was allowed each coat for 
drying. All edges were carefully coated as rust often 
starts in such places and the panels were insulated 
against electrolysis from any stray current leakage 
which might occur. All panels were handled alike and 
the application of the paint was as skillful as possible. 

The committee selected to examine and report on the 
condition of these paints made its first report after 
two years’ exposure. Judgment passed on the paints 
was based on chalking, checking, cracking, scaling, 
peeling, color and the condition of the surface for re- 
painting. Panels were inspected every year and the 
final report at the end of four years’ inspection and 
six years of exposure of the paint was based on an 
average of all points rated during all inspections. At 
the end of the fourth inspection very few panels re- 
mained in condition for further rating. 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 233 


The final ratings given each kind of paint were stated 
by comparing each material with a theoretically per- 
fect paint which was rated as 10 points. The ratings 
given each of the following paints were, then, in com- 
parison with this perfect paint and indicate the paints 
having maximum value as rust-inhibitors. The tabula- 
tion is taken from the report of inspections over a 
period of five years by Sub-Committee IV of Committee 
D-1, of the American Society for Testing Materials :— 
(The rank arrangement is by the author) 


Average Ratings of Metal Paints 
A rating of 10 indicates a perfect paint 


NSeaeaoyoyoeqleoeeeeoooououomomomomomomooeeeeee 


Ratings by years 


No. PIGMENTS 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 ee 
34 American Vermilion 

(basic lead chromate) . 9.1 10.0 9.9 9.8 7.5 i 
5 Sublimed blue lead ..... MO meas.s ee O08 7.2.) 6:0 2 
Bie Arbon black -,.......... SP oeveltoe 27-0 3G.8 -5.0 3 
ai Chrome -creen .......... 35 98 108.6-. 7.6 5.0 3 
20 Willow charcoal ........ rei iae Pe Mut ph c Seay da Ra Og 4 
INC il ea Dil) Boks 6.3) 4.0 5 
Se eeNatiral graphite .......9.1 68 66 62 4.0 5 
our finer chromate .......... 94 95 88 80 4.0 5 
49 Zine and lead chromate . 9.55 9.7 92 83 4.0 5 
51 Magnetic black oxide ... 9.5 9.5 86 7.8 4.0 5 
4 Sublimed white lead .... 9.5 9.0 81 5.9 35 6 
36 Medium chrome yellow .. 7.0 7.7 6.0 5.2 3.5 6 
44 Prussian blue (water 

Btimulative) i+.....°.. Viewee.Oe tS G7. 3,5 6 
poeranee mineral ........ Dee o.o, 16.9 7 4:00 30 7 
1S Metallic brown ......... 6.025.6.8" 56:2.-6,1—' "3.0 7 
foe Drieit red oxide ......-. Gra ren SL Org acy, OF 8 
40 Zine and barium echro- 

Mbt ener See ei), eG. Dee SD) AS 1235 8 


—63“—s=>=@M0S—@=@=®—=—™—“”—$—$—$—$MmwmMmM9WwTmMS9NaaS9@9Daa3S9BDaASDBA9AMBaBBS 


234 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Concerning metal protective paints Dr. H. A. 
Gardner, American Society for Testing Materials, stated 
the case in these words: 


‘<First—Basic pigments such as litharge, red lead, blue lead 
(basic sulphate), white lead, zine oxide, inhibit the corrosion 
of iron. 

‘‘Second—Chromie compounds—basiec lead chromate, normal 
lead chromate, zine chromate—prevent the corrosion of iron. 

‘‘Third—So-called neutral or inert pigments, such as iron 
oxide, which do not excite corrosion, produce with linseed oil 
very durable films. Such pigments include black, brown and 
red oxides of iron, china clay, silica, tale and barium sulphate. 

‘¢Fourth—Substances that form a galvanic couple with steel 
in the presence of moisture cause rapid corrosion. Pigments 
which act in this fashion (graphite, carbon black, lampblack) 
are used only as constituents of finishing coats on steel sur- 
faces, when first insulated from the metal by a coat of basic 
or chromate pigment paint. These carbon pigments with lin- 
seed oil form very durable and water-resisting coatings. ’’ 


METAL PAINTING MATERIALS 


Red Lead.—For a great many years red lead has 
been considered excellent paint for metal surfaces. It 
is a pigment of bright red color made for years by 
melting lead metal in open saucer-shaped kettles or 
furnaces. When the lead metal was thus kept in solu- 
tion for hours it took up oxygen from the air and 
formed first a light yellow powder ealled litharge. 
Litharge is a powerful drier used in making japan 
drier. More time and heat changed the litharge to a 
brilliant red pigment which was red lead. Still more 
time and heat oxidized the red lead to an even more 
brilliant red called orange mineral. Today this process, 
while the same in principle, has been improved some- 
what in application. Orange mineral is now made by 
roasting white lead. 

The brilliant red color of red lead gradually fades on 
exposure as paint to the sunlight. As a color it has 
little value but the fading of the color doesn’t impair 
the durability of the paint in the least or its ability 
to protect a surface. 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 235 


When red lead containing a large percentage of 
litharge—even as much as 1 per cent—is mixed with 
linseed oil it has a tendency to harden in the pot rather 
quickly. It sets too rapidly to permit its being spread 
evenly over a surface except by skilled brush hands 
working diligently. Unless both skilled and conscien- 
tious men spread the paint a badly covered surface may 
result except when better red lead is used. And if more 
than a day’s supply of such red lead paint is mixed 
there will be waste because what is held overnight may 
get hard in the buckets. 

When dry red lead is used it is necessary to stir the 
paint every few minutes. The pigment is very heavy 
and settles to the bottom of the pot. 

About 1913 a great improvement was made in red 
lead. Manufacturers learned how to eliminate the 
litharge by complete oxidation,—thus making red lead 
100 per cent pure. 

With this great accomplishment the defects of red 
lead were eliminated. Pure red lead does not dry more 
rapidly than white lead; in fact, it is necessary to add to 
such red lead the normal amount of japan drier used 
with raw linseed oil in white lead paint. 

One hundred per cent pure red lead is now ground 
in linseed oil and sold in paste form. It is mixed 
by the painter and handled the same as white lead. It 
will keep, like white lead, indefinitely without getting 
hard in the container and the need for constant stirring 
of the pot of paint is no greater than for white lead, 
but it is, of course, wise to stir any paint often to keep 
the top of the same consistency as the bottom while 
being brushed. 

In both laboratory and severe field tests red lead 
has proved itself unexcelled in its ability to stick to 
metal surfaces and to keep out moisture which starts 
corrosion and rusting. 

Red lead in oil paste is obviously more convenient for 


236 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


the painter to handle than dry red lead and it offers less 
chance for waste and consumes less time in the mixing. 
It is ground finer in the mills also and, consequently, 
covers more surface better. 

Engineers and architects have experienced some dif- 
ficulty in having dry red lead paints properly used to 
completely and evenly cover the iron and steel, both 
on shop coats and field coats, because of the difficulty 
of brushing out the paint from high and dangerous 
perches on bridges and structural steel sky-scrapers. 
But red lead-in-oil-paste works very easy under the 
brush and because it spreads as easily as any paint the 
surfaces are better painted. 

Testing by Weight.—Government specifications which 
eall for red lead paint usually require that the paint 
shall weigh not less than 26 pounds per gallon and not 
more than 28 pounds per gallon. Railroad, municipal, 
state and other public work specifications require a 
minimum weight of 24 pounds and a maximum of 28 
pounds. Climatic and other conditions under which 
metal surfaces are painted greatly influence the weight 
per gallon which is best of red lead paint. 

Red lead is the heaviest of paint pigments and so 
the sizes of the packages are the smallest,—a 100-Ib. 
red lead keg is quite a bit smaller than a 100-lb. white 
lead keg. Consequently, when red lead paint paste has 
been mixed with other pigments the original packages 
will always be larger for the corresponding weights. 
Such mixed pigment paints weigh usually not over 18 
pounds per gallon. 

Red lead in oil paste must contain 97 per cent of 
true red lead or it will harden in the package. And it 
must be very fine and uniform or it cannot be oxidized 
to the extent of 97 per cent pure red lead. All of which 
means that any red lead ground in oil and sold in 
paste form, rather than dry, must be at least 97 per cent 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 237 


pure red lead, leaving only 3 per cent for litharge or 
inert pigments. 


MIXING FORMULAS—RED LEAD 


The United States Navy specification for red lead 
(dry) mixed with linseed oil calls for 31 lbs. dry red 
lead and 1 gallon (734 Ibs.) of linseed oil. 33 pounds 
of lead to the gallon of oil makes a better paint for 
the building field, however. 


33 lbs. dry red lead 

1 gal. linseed oil 

14 pint japan drier if raw oil is used 
with 10 per cent pure red. Other- 
wise no drier is needed. 

Makes about 114 gal. of paint 

Weight per gallon 28 lbs, 

or 

100 Ibs. red lead, dry 

3 gal. linseed oil 

114 pts. japan drier, if raw oil is used 
with 100 per cent pure red lead. 

Makes about 334 to 4 gal. of paint. 


100 lbs. of red lead paste composed of 94 per cent 
pigment and 6 per cent oil bulks 2.13 (214) gallons. 

Red lead-in-oil paste is mixed in the following pro- 
portions which are equivalent to 33 lbs. dry red lead 
to 1 gallon (734 lbs.) of linseed oil. 

If raw linseed oil is used add about 14 pint of japan 
drier for each gallon of paint. If good boiled oil is 
to be had use 1/3 boiled oil and 2/3 raw oil :— 


ORANGE RED (NATURAL COLOR) 


100 lbs. red lead paste 
1.98 gal. linseed oil (boiled) 
Makes 4.11 gal. paint 
or 
50 Ibs. red lead paste 


238 _ HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


1 gal. linseed oil (734 Ibs.) 

Makes 2.06 gal. of paint 
One gallon of such paint contains 24.29 Ibs. 
red lead and .48 gallons linseed oil (734 
gallon). One gallon of this paint weighs about 
28 Ibs. 


A red lead paint of thinner consistency may be mixed 
as follows :— 


100 lbs. red lead paste 

2.5 gal. linseed oil 

Makes 4.6 gal. of paint 

or 

40 lbs. red lead paste 

1 gal. linseed oil (734 Ibs.) 

Makes 1.85 gal. of paint 
One gallon of the above paint contains 21.65 
Ibs. of red lead and .54 gallons of linseed oil. 
One gallon weighs 25.8 pounds. 


Red lead paint may be tinted, using regular tinting 
colors, in oil the same as for white lead. It is desirable 
usually to tint the last coat at least one of the following 
colors: 

BLACK RED LEAD PAINT 


100 lbs. red lead paste 

52 Ibs. lamp black 

16 lbs. Chinese blue 

15.20 gal. linseed oil 
Makes 24.55 gal. of paint 

or 

4.08 lbs. red lead paste 
2.12 Ibs. lamp black 

.65 lbs. Chinese blue 

.62 gal. linseed oil 

Makes 1 gallon of paint 
Weight per gallon 11.6 Ibs. 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 239 
DARK BROWN RED LEAD PAINT 


100 lbs. red lead paste 

6 lbs. lamp black 

2.64 gal. linseed oil 
Makes 6.42 gal. of paint 

or 

15.57 lbs. red lead paste 

.93 Ibs. lampblack 

.o7 gal. linseed oil 
Makes 1 gal. of paint 
Weight per gallon 20.9 lbs. 


LIGHT GREEN RED LEAD PAINT 


100 lbs. red lead paste 

31 lbs. medium chrome yellow 
13 lbs. Prussian blue 
6.12 gal. linseed oil 

or 

9.48 lbs. red paste 
2.94 lbs. medium chrome yellow 
1.23 Ibs. Prussian blue 

.o8 gal. linseed oil. 
Weight per gallon 1914 pounds 


OTHER COLORS 


White, gray and any other tints and shades wanted 
for the finishing coats over red-lead painted metal sur- 
faces may be mixed by using white lead or white lead 
tinted to suit as for wood surfaces. And, of course, any 
other white or colored paint may be used over the red 
lead priming coat. For white and light tints two coats 
are essential for a nice finish over the bright red. Dark 
grays and other shades often cover solidly and hide red 
lead in one coat. 


240 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Mix white lead for finishing coats over red lead as 
follows: 
100 lbs. white lead 
314 to 4 gal. linseed oil 
1 pint turpentine 
Tinting colors 
Makes about 614 to 7 gallons of paint 


Reinforced Red Lead Paint.—The Equipment Di- 
vision, Ordnance Department, U. S. Army, during the 
world war made up a specification for such paint which 
reads as follows: 

‘*This paint shall weigh not less than 16 pounds per 
gallon. It shall contain not less than 64 per cent pig- 
ment. The pigment portion shall contain 60 per cent 
red lead and 40 per cent of silicious matter such 
aS magnesium or aluminum silicates and silica or a 
mixture thereof. The red lead used shall contain not 
less than 85 per cent Pb304, the balance to be PbO. 

‘“The liquids shall consist of 90 per cent of linseed 
oil and 10 per cent of combined drier and thinner. The 
thinner shall be turpentine. 

‘“When applied to a smooth iron surface, this paint 
must dry in twelve hours without running, streaking 
or sagging.’’ 

Blue Lead.—It would seem from a study of the re- 
ports on the Atlantie City test fence that blue lead is 
a metal paint of first importance. It really has the first 
rank among these ratings because basic chromate of 
lead (American vermilion) is too expensive to be ex- 
tensively used, without adulteration, for commercial 
paints. 

At this point it should be remembered that there are 
bright red paints on the market which match American 
vermilion in color, but which do not have the same 
properties—farm machine reds, they are sometimes 
called. They are made by staining white inert pig- 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 241 


ments like barytes with coal tar reds. And sometimes 
dull reds, like iron oxides, are stained with coal tar reds 
to gain the brilliant hue. 

Until recent years blue lead has not been urged for 
metal painting. In a general way the manufacture of 
blue lead is quite like the manufacture of zine oxide. 
The raw material is lead metal made from galena ore— 
precisely the same raw material as that from which 
white lead is made by chemical corrosion. 

Dry blue lead is used in the manufacture of rubber 
and of prepared paints. Blue lead is mixed and ground 
to paste form with 90 parts of lead to 10 parts of linseed 
oil—or ninety per cent blue lead and ten per cent of 
linseed oil. 

Other characteristics of blue lead as set forth by its 
manufacturers are: | 

It provides the two most essential qualities needed for 
protection of iron and steel—chemical action tending to 
inhibit or hold back the corrosive, rusting process and 
mechanical action tending to exclude air and moisture 
which cause rust. Blue lead doesn’t harden in the 
container when mixed with oil. -It remains in sus- 
pension—the pigment doesn’t settle to the bottom of the 
pot, being exceptionally and uniformly fine it makes a 
paint film which attaches firmly and permanently to 
metal surfaces. 

Blue lead is ground in pure linseed oil and packed 
in steel kegs of 1214, 25, 50 and 100 pounds, net weight. 
It is sold at the same price as white lead. 

Because of the uniformity with which it spreads 
and the intensity of its slate gray color, blue lead has 
remarkable hiding power. A gallon of properly mixed 
blue lead in oil will cover approximately 800 square 
feet on surfaces of average smoothness. This figure 
holds good even when the paint is applied over pure 
white surfaces, which, as every practical painter knows, 
is the most difficult color to obscure. 


242 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


The natural color of blue lead in oil is slate gray. 
It can be mixed with other materials, such as chrome 
green, chrome yellow, red lead, ete., to obtain a variety 
of colors, without appreciably changing its remarkable 
rust-proofing qualities. 


MIXING FORMULAS—BLUE LEAD 


100 Ibs. of blue lead paste bulks 3 gallons, about the 
same as white lead ;— 

1 pound of blue lead paste bulks .018 gallon. 

Surfaces which become too hot for the use of linseed 
oil may be coated with blue lead mixed with fish oil. 
Three coats are needed for rust-proofing metal sur- 
faces. Blue lead in oil paste may be thinned with either 
boiled or raw linseed oil. When raw oil is used not 
more than five per cent (by weight) of japan drier is 
needed. 


SLATE GRAY BLUE LEAD PAINT 


100 lbs. blue lead paste 
4 gal. raw linseed oil 
; 1 qt. turpentine 
1 qt. japan drier 
Makes about 714 gal. of paint 
or 
25 lbs. blue lead paste 
1 gal. raw linseed oil 
14, pt. turpentine 
14 pt. japan drier | 
Makes about 1% gal. of paint 
Weight per gallon 1914 lbs 


DARK GREEN BLUE LEAD PAINT 


80 lbs. blue lead paste 

20 lbs. medium chrome yellow 
4 gal. raw linseed oil 
1 qt. turpentine 
1 qt. japan drier 


eX 


—s 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 243 


Makes about 714 gal. of paint 
DARK BROWN BLUE LEAD PAINT 


50 lbs. blue lead paste 
50 Ibs. red lead 
4 gal. raw linseed oil 
1 qt. turpentine 
1 qt. japan drier (if 100% pure red lead 
is used) 
Makes about 714 gal. of paint 


LIGHT GREEN BLUE LEAD PAINT 


50 Ibs. blue lead paste 
50 Ibs. medium chrome green 
4 gal. raw linseed oil 
1 qt. turpentine 
1 qt. japan drier 
Makes about 714 gal. of paint 


Graphite.—Natural graphite, a form of carbon mined 
from the earth, is a black and fine pigment having a 
metallic sheen. It is also called black lead and plum- 
bago. This is a decomposed stone which in some in- 
Stances may contain as much as eighty-five per cent 
graphite and a remainder of silicious material. The 
manufacturing process is principally one of mining, 
cleaning and separating the graphite from impurities 
to recover the soft dry pigment. 

Graphite pigment varies in color from jet black to 
grays but is always too dark for general painting pur- 
poses. It is very durable and serves many purposes 
including the making of lead pencils, as a lubricant 
with grease for heavy machine moving parts and as a 
paint for metal roofs, structural iron, bridges and ma- 
chinery in general. 

Graphite paints are usually factory made to contain 
not more than forty per cent graphite, the other sixty 
per cent being silica or a mixture of other pigments. 


244 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Coloring matter is also added to make what are called 
brown, green or red graphite paints. Linseed oil is used 
as the vehicle. 

An artificial graphite of extremely fine texture is 
also made. A. graphite paint formula commonly used 
reads: 

‘‘This paint shall contain forty per cent pigment and 
sixty per cent liquids. 

‘‘The pigment portion shall consist of either the 
natural or artificial form of graphite. There shall be at 
least sixty per cent of graphite carbon in the pigment 
portion; the balance to consist of iron oxide, silica or 
silicious earth pigments. 

‘‘The liquids shall consist of eighty per cent pure 
linseed oil and twenty per cent combined thinner and 
drier. The thinner shall consist of equal parts by 
weight of mineral spirits and turpentine.”’ 

While graphite has been extensively used for metal 
paints for some years, some authorities now believe that 
it should never be used on bare iron and steel, that the 
first coat put on to such metal surfaces should be a rust 
inhibitive material. Over such a first coat graphite 
makes a valuable and durable protective coating. 

One theory as to the cause of corrosion of iron and 
steel is that of electrolysis. Stray currents of elec- 
tricity, leakage from high power lines, tend to liquify 
the metal surface; moisture and contact with the air 
oxidize or rust the liquid metal. To retard this electric 
action, paint coatings which are non-conductors are 
essential. Paint pigments like graphite, carbon black 
and lamp black are excellent conductors of electricity 
and so actually speed the corrosive action on iron and 
steel. This point was well stated by Dr. A. H. Sabin 


before the Engineering Society of Western Pennsyl-- 


vania in these words :— 
‘‘The conducting power of graphite is so perfect that 
in electroplating plaster casts and the lke, they are 


a 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 245 


covered with a graphite film not more than 1/10,000 of 
an inch in thickness, which conducts the feeblest cur- 
rent of electricity as though it were a metal surface. On 
the other hand a film of red lead paint has been found 
by electrical experts to be equal in inhibiting power to 
India rubber,’’ 

Aluminum Bronze Paints—For certain kinds of 
metal surfaces aluminum paints possess an exceedingly 
valuable characteristic,—the ability to reflect light and 
heat rays to a greater degree than other paints. When 
it comes to painting oil storage tanks, gas holders, re- 
frigerator cars and many other structures it is possible 
to make the paint assist in keeping the surface cool. 
Bronze paint is used on balloon and airship fabries to 
deflect the heat rays and light rays from the sun which 
destroy the fabric unprotected in this manner rather 
rapidly. 

The mixing of aluminum paint is accomplished in a 
reverse manner to that used for other paints, in the 
respect that the dry aluminum or colored bronze pig- 
ments are poured into a pot containing liquid. It is 
easier to mix any dry pigment with a liquid by placing 
the liquid in the pot first and stirring the dry pigment 
into it than if the reverse operation is followed. 

The metallic pigments are very heavy and they settle 
to the bottom of the pot quickly. They should not only 
be thoroughly mixed, but it is essential to agitate the 
paint every few minutes by stirring in order to keep the 
paint of the same consistency all the time. 

Aluminum paint should be mixed for average surfaces 
in the proportion of about 114 to 2 pounds of dry alu- 
minum powder to 1 gallon of heavy-bodied boiled linseed 
oil. This will make approximately 114 gallons of paint. 

For some purposes the liquid used is entirely special 
heavy-bodied boiled linseed oil. Ordinary raw linseed 
oil is too thin for use with this pigment. Some brands 
of heavy-bodied boiled linseed oil can be thinned with 


246 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


turpentine or mineral spirits in the portion of 40 parts 
oil to 60 parts of turpentine and the resulting mixture 
will be of just about the right consistency for aluminum 
paint. 

Where aluminum paint is exposed to the weather, 
spar varnish makes an excellent vehicle with which to 
mix the aluminum powder in the proportion of 114 to 2 
pounds of powder to a gallon of varnish. If the varnish 
vehicle is too expensive an excellent and serviceable 
liquid ean still be made by using 20 per cent of ordinary 
pure raw or boiled linseed oil to 60 per cent of spar 
varnish. 

The pigment particles of aluminum are flat and make 
up a paint film by a leafy formation, one flat pigment 
particle overlapping the other lke fish scales. This 
leafy peculiarity retards the drying of linseed oil 
somewhat, and for that reason boiled oil is preferred. 
It is sometimes necessary to add a little japan drier to 
make the paint dry rapidly enough. And if a harder 
paint film is wanted, spar varnish should be added to the 
oil vehicle. 

Aluminum paint is very opaque and protects a sur- 
face well. It is particularly noted for excluding ultra- 
violet light rays. Such paint is valuable for protecting 
not only metal but also surfaces which are subjected to 
both indoor and outdoor exposure. Aluminum paint 
reflects most of the light and heat cast upon it and 
absorbs very little. It is for this reason that aluminum 
paint is used as a protective medium on balloon fabrics. 
In past years the large gas bags of airships deteriorated 
rapidly because of the effect of the direct rays of sun- 
light. Aluminum paint has materially increased the 
life of such fabries by excluding the heat and light. 
China wood oil is used with aluminum powder for such 
paints because of its ability to withstand high tem- 
peratures. 


A 
2 





METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 247 


For use on exterior surfaces at least two coats of 
aluminum paint are necessary. 

Aluminum paint should be fresh each day, because it 
deteriorates by losing its rapid leafing quality when it 
stands in the vehicle for some time. 

The polished aluminum powder has a higher reflec- 
tivity than an unpolished aluminum. The polished pig- 
ment reflects between 55 and 70 per cent of light rays, 
while the unpolished refiects between 45 and 50 per cent 
of light rays. 

It is interesting to note that some very pleasing deco- 
rative effects can be gained by mixing tinting color 
pigments with aluminum paint. The aluminum will 
conceal small amounts of color, but fairly large amounts 
will add their color to the paint, while the aluminum 
adds reflection and brilliance which are very pleasing. 

Asphaltum Paint.—Asphaltum (bitumen) is a min- 
eral pitch or natural tar which is sometimes melted in a 
kettle and brushed on while hot to metal surfaces. A 
rather inconvenient method, to be sure. 

Asphaltum varnish is used to some extent for coating 
exterior metal surfaces like rain “gutters, pipe, porch 
and stair railings, ete. It is made by dissolving coal- 
tar pitch in coal-tar naphtha. Some varnishes of this 
type are made from prepared asphalt pitch, oil and 
spirit thinners. 

A common formula for asphaltum paint, the one 
written into the specifications of the Equipment Di- 
vision, Ordnance Department, U. S. Army, reads: 

“This paint must be made on a high grade asphaltum 
base compounded with linseed oil and drier. It must 
contain not less than 10 gallons of pure linseed oil to 
100 gallons of varnish. It must be reducible with 
naphtha and free from sediment and dirt. It must set 
to the touch in 90 minutes, and must dry hard to a 
black, lustrous film in less than 15 hours. When dry 


248 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and hard, it must not rub up by friction under the 
fingers. It must not flash under 85 degrees F. in a 
closed Abel tester.’ 

American Vermilion (basic lead chromate).—As a 
metal paint this pigment is rated as the highest of all 
for its rust-inhibitive qualities. It is rather too ex- 
pensive, however, to use generally as a metal paint, 
although before the advent of the coal tar reds it was 
so used on machinery. American vermilion is employed 
extensively as a tinting color. Its hue is brilliant and 
about the same color as English, French and Chinese 
vermilions. These latter pigments, however, are made 
on a sulphide of mercury base, while American ver- 
milion is made on a lead base. 

American vermilion is a rather coarsely crystalline 
pigment having great opacity or hiding power and 
tinting strength. Its brilliant color is fairly permanent, 
but it turns black in the presence of sulphur fumes 
from oil refineries, furnaces, ete., and it should not be 
mixed with pigments having a sulphur base,—such 
pigments as ultramarine blue, English vermilion, ete. 

Para Red Vermilion—A coal tar color now used 
extensively in the agricultural machinery manufac- 
turing field. Each manufacturer’s specifications are 
somewhat different for this metal paint, but the follow- 
ing is a common formula for such a red: 

‘‘The dry pigment shall consist of non-fading, organic 
para red precipitated upon a white base. The pigment 
shall contain at least 10 per cent of pure organic 
coloring matter, the balance to consist of barium sul- 
phate. The pigment shall be ground to a stiff paste in 
pure, clear, raw linseed oil, in the proportion of 80 
parts of pigment to 20 parts of oil. This paste shall 
break up readily on thinning. The color, shade, tone, 
fineness and covering power shall be satisfactory. It 
shall be resistant to excessive bleeding.”’ 





METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 249 


PREPARATION OF SURFACES 


The importance of careful preparatory work on wood 
surfaces is generally appreciated, but too little attention 
is often given to preparing metal surfaces for painting. 
And yet there can be no doubt that considerable sealing 
of paint on such surfaces is due to spreading paint 
over metal which is more or less covered with rust, oil, 
grease, scale or dirt. 

Paint cannot adhere permanently, nor prevent cor- 
rosion of metal surfaces, unless placed in intimate con- 
tact with the sound metal when the metal is dry. When 
metal covered with rust, dirt, grease or the mill scale, 
which forms on iron and steel by the heating processes 
during hot rolling or tempering work, are painted over 
they prevent the intimate contact of paint and metal 
necessary. Changes of temperature of the metal on 
outside exposure forces mill scales off while rust covered 
areas continue to corrode, eventually causing the paint 
to seale off. 

Structural metal shapes and machine parts are 
usually drilled or punched with holes and in these 
processes oil is smeared on the metal. It can only be re- 
moved by wiping with benzine, by sandblasting or 
pickling methods used in factories but not commonly 
available to the painter. 

Contrary to common conceptions metal surfaces are 
filled with minute pores which offer anchorage for the 
paint coatings. Examination of any metal with a 
magnifying glass reveals this fact. And even though 
pores in metal are much smaller than wood grain pores, 
it is important to remove all grease, dirt, rust and mill 
scale in order to give metal paints a fair opportunity to 
attach to the metal. 

A perfectly prepared metal surface results only when 
the metal is bright and shining and when cleaned to that 
extent, especially with the sand-blast machine, the first 


250 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS f 


paint should follow immediately after the cleaning, in 
a matter of hours, to avoid the formation of new rust. 
On such a surface new rust starts to form with sur- 
prising speed. 

While the perfectly prepared metal surface is as 
bright and shining as a new coin, it is not by any means 
practical to so prepare all metal to that extent. Struc- 
tural steel, metal roofs, steel doors, window sash, storage 
tanks, fire escapes and similar surfaces are considered 
sufficiently prepared when all loose surface accumu- 
lations like grease, oil, dust, rust, mill scale, old scaling 
paint, ete., have been removed, even though such re- 
moval doesn’t leave a bright and shining metal ex- 
posure. 

Metal Cleaning Tools—When very large areas of 
metal surfaces are to be prepared in the shop or out in 
the field on erected metal the sand-blast machine is the 
most effective means of getting the work done speedily 
and perfectly. Such machines drive sharp sand with 
compressed air through a hose and nozzle and rapidly 
eut off all surface accumulations whether on metal or 
stone or brick. Such machine equipment represents a 
considerable investment and the average painting con- 
tractor doesn’t have sufficient use for this machinery to 
justify the large investment. 

Other tools and hand operations are principally relied 
upon for preparing metal surfaces, although painting 
contractors can often sublet the preparatory work of 
cleaning large areas of metal with sand-blast to con- 
tractors who make a specialty of this sort of work and 
who have large machine equipment with which to do the 
work. 

The steel wire brushes pictured in Plate 103, Chapter 
V, and several other shapes and sizes are used for 
cleaning various kinds of metal shapes. Steel brushes 
are especially effective for removing dry rust, but not 
rust scales. 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 251 


Plate 120 illustrates two home made scrapers which 
are unequalled for effective and speedy work removing 
rust seales, flaky mill seales, scaling paint, asphaltum 





Plate 120..-Home Made Paint Scrapers 


and other substances from structural and other steel 
and iron surfaces. These tools are easily made. Take 
a couple of old flat files—from ten to fourteen inches 
long—to a blacksmith. Have him turn the end of one 
file over about one and one-half inches from the end. 
Then grind a bevel or chisel edge on this and the other 
file as illustrated. The blacksmith will temper the steel 
to hard edges which will cut fast and long. Next have 
made a wood handle for each about a foot long so 
that two hands can grip the scraper at work. Short 
handles with ferrules on can also be secured from hard- 
ware stores and these serve well. 

A hammer and cold chisel are needed for areas of 
heavy mill seale or large rust scales on deeply corroded 
places. After chipping off the scales use steel scrapers 
and finish with wire brushes or sand-blast. 

Large and deeply rusted areas should be soaked with 
benzine, then burn off such areas with a match or go 
over them with a blow torch paint burner. After that 
treatment a steel wire brush is more effective in re- 
moving the dry rust. 

Other tools needed for this cleaning work are plenty 
of No. 2 and No. 3 sandpaper, or steel wool, a duster 
brush—Plates 28 and 29,—an ordinary scraper, Plate 
93 and sometimes a paint burner, Plates 90 and 91 for 
removing heavy spots of tar, grease, etc. 





252 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Some wiping rags, a can of benzine, or a mixture of 
benzine and turpentine are essential for the clean up 
work, 

Hot water in which a little sal soda, washing soda, 
is dissolved is effective for washing many metal surfaces 
coated with oil or grease. If a strong soda solution is 
necessary the surface must be well washed later with 
clear water to remove every trace of soda which will 
destroy the paint. A coat of vinegar will neutralize 
the soda. 

For those painters who specialize in industrial paint- 
ing, and there are many who prefer factory work to 
house painting and decorating, new and effective tools 
are now available. In addition to the great savings 
of time and labor cost assured by the use of spray 
guns for painting large and rough surfaces, similar 
savings are to be made by using sand-blast machines, 
pneumatic air rust scaling hammers, acetylene paint 
burner torches and revolving steel wire brushes op- 
erated by compressed air or electricity. 

Spray painting equipment is illustrated and de- 
scribed in Chapter III. The acetylene paint burners 
are illustrated in Chapter V. 

Sand-Blast Machines.-—Made in several sizes. One 
of the smaller types is pictured by Plate 121. Such 
machines are loaded with sharp sand. A compressed 
air pressure is built up in a storage tank by an air 
compressor driven by gasoline or by electric power. 
The sand is mixed with air at about sixty pounds 
pressure and is driven through a nozzle at the end of 
a rubber hose carried up to the work while the machine 
remains in the street or basement of the building. The 
blast of sand cuts off rust, dirt and old paint rapidly, 
leaving a bright, shiny metal surface which is perfect 
to receive paint. Sand-blast also cleans stone and 
brick surfaces in like manner, 

Old hard paint is quickly removed from metal, stone, 


dq 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 253 


conerete or brick by sand-blast, but paint on wood 
cannot be so removed because the sharp sand abrasive 
euts into the wood fibre giving it a weather-beaten ap- 
pearance. Soft paint simply gums up and is not re- 
moved by sand-blast, or at least it cuts off very slowly. 

The investment for sand-blast machine equipment 
amounts to about the same as for spray gun painting 
outfits and of course the latter equipment can be used 





Plate 121.—Sand-Blast and Spray Painting Machine 


for more purposes. When large areas of surfaces are 
to be prepared or a considerable volume of smaller 
surfaces are included in a contractor’s work of prep- 
aration for painting the sand-blast machine soon pays its 
-way. It is efficient, saves time and labor cost and pre- 
pares surfaces much better than can be approached by 
hand labor methods. In large shops steel railway cars, 
automobiles, ships and many items of small merchandise 
are quickly prepared for painting and repainting by 
sand-blast. The paint on an automobile, for instance, 
ean be completely stripped off down to the bare metal 
in less than an hour with sand-blast, leaving a bright, 
clean surface. 


254. HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Metal prepared with sand-blast and painted remains 
free from rust for a much longer period than when 
cleaned by hand methods. The sand blast machine 
will also supply air for spray gun painting. 

Pneumatic Air Rust Scaling Hammers, Plate 122.— 
This tool is practically the same as pneumatie air 
riveting hammers but is of lighter weight and is fitted 
with a chisel edge tool. Similar tools are used for stone 
cutting and calking ship seams. 

Compressed air is also required for this tool which 








TOOL o STRIKER TRIGGER 








ISSA AGMA 
————— i LLL ZL aia 
) Cae 

SE IE TA A ae TLE B 










Plate 122..-Pneumatic Air Rust Scaling Hammer 


is operated simply by pulling or pushing a trigger 
and holding the chisel point on to the rust scales and. 
mill seales to be cut off. The air drives the chisel with 
repeated short, sharp blows as long as the thumb or 
finger holds the trigger down. 

This air hammer will scale three or four times as 
much surface per day as can be sealed by hand with‘ 
cold chisel and hammer on horizontal surfaces like 
plates, decks, bridge ties, beams ete. On vertical sur- 
faces the weight of the pneumatic hammer slows down 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 255 


production a bit, but still the work is easier and faster 
than hand work. 

Revolving Steel Wire Brushes, Plate 123.—This air 
motor of the portable type was designed originally for 
grinding and buffing wheel operation. A steel wire 
brush when fitted to the revolving shaft which is driven 
by compressed air makes one of the most effective tools 
known for removing rust and dirt from metal surfaces. 
The brush revolves at very high speed and cuts old 
paint off as well as rust and dirt. The air exhaust from 
the air motor blows the rust, dust or old paint away. 

The same type of revolving brush is made to be 
driven by a small portable electric motor and is more 
convenient for many where electric power is available 
and where compressed air equipment is not at hand. 
This tool is identical with the portable steel drills 
now used by all machine shops, garages, ete. 





Plate 123.—Revolving Steel Wire Brush 


Still another type of machine which does the same 
work has the electric motor mounted on a small truck 
with wheels on it. A long flexible wire cable in a 
hose housing has the revolving brush secured to the 
end, considerably like the dentist’s drill. 

Iron and Steel Surfaces—What has just been written 
about the preparation of surfaces in general applies in 
particular to iron and steel preparation. 

New steel structural shapes, doors, window sash, fire 
escapes, etc., usually receive one shop coat of paint. 
Such coats should be composed of very good paint, but 


256 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


sometimes are of the cheapest and poorest paint. The 
first coat of paint on any surface is the foundation 
for all future painting. When the first coat fails to 
attach itself, sealing is quite certain to occur in the 
future. The first coat next to the metal should be the 
best of paint of the rust inhibitive type in order to 
hold back rust formation induced by electrolysis and 
also in order to form a firmly attached foundation. 

New metal for interior exposure is sufficiently pro- 
tected with two coats of paint, as a rule two coats are 
used but some authorities believe that interior metal 
surfaces are exposed to just as severe service and wear 
as exterior surfaces and they recommend three coats 
for interior as well as for exterior. 

The second and third coats of paint on metal are 
usually tinted a little different than the preceding coat, 
just enough to distinguish one coat from another, thus 
making brushing of each coat easier, making certain 
that all surface is covered uniformly and making in- 
spection easier. 

Old metal surfaces usually require two coats of paint 
after they have been carefully brushed down to remove 
any scales, rust, dirt, etc. Grease and oil must be wiped 
off clean with benzine. Bare spots which appear after 
cleaning should be touched up with a coat of paint 
which should be allowed to dry before the two suc- 
ceeding coats are put on to the whole surface. 

In the preparation of old surfaces especial care should 
be taken to remove rust, dirt and grease from rivet and 
bolt heads. Rust usually gets a start at these points 
and upon edges of plates. 

Old surfaces from which the paint is scaling gen- 
erally require more thorough preparation. <As long as 
the old paint is firmly attached to the metal over most 
of the area, showing scales only here and there, it is 
usually a firm foundation for new paint after removing 
the patches of scaled paint and touching up the bare 





) 
i 
{ 
; 


A 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 257 


metal. But when so much of the total area of paint has 
seales in evidence as to indicate that scaling is general 
the whole paint foundation has an insecure attachment 
to the metal. In such cases every inch of the old paint 
should be removed down to the metal to give the new 
paint an opportunity to anchor itself on the bare metal. 
No paint job is any better than its weakest link,—the 
priming coat. 7 

Removing old cracked and scaled paint is done with 
steel scrapers, by sandpapering, by burning with gaso- 
line or acetylene torches or by the use of the sand-blast 
machine. 

Galvanized Iron Surfaces——The scaling of paint on 
galvanized iron so much in evidence is often due to 
the inability of even good paint to gain anchorage on 
the surface. The galvanizing process leaves an exceed- 
ingly smooth surface to which it is sometimes impossible 
for paint to attach itself. The use of the following 
washes will rough up the surface enough to allow the 
paint to attach itself: 


4 ounces of copper acetate, copper chloride or 
copper sulphate dissolved in one gallon of 
water. 

Or another suitable wash may be mixed this way: 
1 qt. warm water 
14 ounce nitrate of copper 
1% chloride of copper 
14 ounce sal ammoniae 
Mix the wash in a glass or earthen jar and then 
add 14 ounce of erude hydrochlorie acid. 
Apply the wash with an old flat brush. The 
white powder which forms when the solution 
is dry should be brushed off before painting, 
The metal will be black when this wash has 
been applied and is dry. 


Galvanized iron which has been subjected to the 


258 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


weather a year or so doesn’t need any wash when good 
paint is used. 

Tin Plate Surfaces——Sheet iron plated with tin solu- 
tions for use on roof decks principally require paint- 
ing. Neither tin coated nor galvanized metal surfaces 
are proof against rusting because the slightest imperfec- 
tion in the coatings offers a starting point for rust 
and soon a hole is rusted through the thin metal, even 
before the corrosion is detected. 

Two thin coats of paint on metal roofs with at least 
a week between coats for drying make a good founda- 
tion. Then a third coat put on two or three weeks later 
will make a first class and durable job. 

Tin surfaces should be wiped clean and dry with a 
cloth or cotton waste wet with benzine or turpentine 
just before painting. Also all rosin and acid stains at 
seams and joints left by the soldering should be scraped 
and cleaned well. 

Hot water to which sal soda, washing soda, has been 
added is a good cleaner for tin. One pound of soda 
to five gallons of water is about the correct strength. 
Rinse the roof well with clear water and let it dry com- 
pletely after the soda wash and before painting. Get 
the soda water out of seams and crevices certainly. 

Zinc and Copper Surfaces.——These metals are not so 
often painted. They do not need paint for protection, 
since they do not rust. Roof gutters, decks, down 
spouts, ete. of zine and copper are painted sometimes, 
however, to make them conform to the color scheme, 
or to prevent the green deposit which accumulates on 
copper from washing down and staining the painted 
walls below. 

Before painting these metals it is necessary to wash 
and brush them to remove surface accumulations in the 
same manner as was described for preparing tin sur- 
faces. 

Copper is often given an oxidizing treatment to speed 


a es 


a 


a 


METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 259 


the natural green patina which accumulates on copper 
with age. This process is given in Chapter XIX. 

Two coats of paint are usually sufficient for these 
metals. 

Number of Coats Needed.—Several thin coats of 
paint are always more durable than one or two thick 
coats because each coat becomes thoroughly dry and 
matures more quickly. But the time element enters 
and so it is commonly considered that three coats of 
paint are the best rust-proofing treatment. 

The first, or shop coat, is put on in the factory where 
the structural iron or other metal is eut and shaped. 
Then two field coats are brushed on after the metal 
has been erected. , 

To enable an inspector to determine how many coats 
have been put on, and to help the painter cover the 
surface well, each coat should be tinted slightly dif- 
ferent—for example, the first coat may be the natural 
color of red lead or blue lead, the second coat may be 
gray made by adding a little lamp black to the paint 
and the third coat may be green, dark gray, brown or 
black. 

Brushing, Spraying and Dipping—The success of 
rust-proofing paint coatings depends absolutely upon 
the man with the brush or spray gun. Thorough and 
conscientious brushing of the paint to make certain 
every inch of metal is covered is one great essential. 
Careful brushing to spread an even coating of paint 
and to cover every joint, rivet and bolt head is the re- 
quirement. 

It is much easier to write this specification than it 
is to fulfill it. Many metal surfaces are painted from 
high and dangerous perches and where moving from 
stretch to stretch is precarious, indeed. Hence the 
temptation to slight the brushing. Inspection is dif- 
ficult and at times impossible. So it’s squarely up to 
the painter with the brush or spray gun to conscien- 


260 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


tiously cover every square inch of surface or to realize 
that his carelessness causes very considerable losses of 
property and danger to lives by the rusting of steel 
supporting structures. 

The kind of a brush preferred for metal painting is © 
the round, or pound brush, or an oval brush. See 
Plate 20. Such a brush is better than a flat wall brush 
for most metal surfaces. With it the corners and small 
members can be more easily reached. It holds as much 
paint as the flat wall brush and a bit more pressure 
is exerted on it. 

Spray guns are used now for a great deal of the 
painting on metal surfaces, especially for large areas 
like storage tanks, gas holders, roofs, ete. A great deal 
of time and labor cost are saved in this way. 

For spraying mix your metal paint the same as for 
brushing, as to the proportion of pigment, oil and drier. 
Then thin the paint with benzine, gasoline or turpen- 
tine to the consistency which works best in your spray 
gun. 

The dipping of metal parts in paint is often resorted 
to where the quantity, size and shapes of the pieces 
make it practical. 

On structural steel the first coat, usually applied in 
the shop, should always be brushed on to assure the 
most permanent anchorage of the paint,—or the paint 
may be sprayed on and then brushed to lay it off. 

Field coats on structural steel for new buildings 
sometimes are applied by dipping. Wood or preferably 
sheet iron tanks are used which are large enough to 
hold one piece of structural iron at a time. These are 
taken to the job. The large steel members are often 
too heavy to be handled for dipping and must be brush 
coated, but the smaller tie members of steel which are 
most numerous can be quickly dipped and piled up to 
dry before the structural iron workers hoist and rivet 
them into place. 





METAL PAINTS AND PAINTING 261 


When one of the two field coats is dipped it is best 
to coat the new rivets by brush before the last coat 
- of paint is brushed or sprayed on. 

Colors for Storage Tanks.—Uarge tanks exposed to 
the direct rays of the sun and the weather are usually 
painted dark colors, but this practice is lacking in good 
judgment when the tanks contain light, volatile liquids 
like benzine, alcohol, gasoline, benzol, turpentine, ete. 
The color of the paint on the outside of tanks is an 
influential factor toward establishing the temperature 
of the tank metal and the contents. And, of course, the 
hotter the tank the greater the loss of its contents by 
evaporation. 

In this connection a study of the influence of color 
on tank temperatures is interesting. H. A. Gardner 
gives the following results in ‘‘Light-Reflecting Values 
of White and Colored Pigments’’:— 

The rise in temperature of benzine contained in small 
tanks painted in the below colors with a gloss finish is 
indicated after each color. The tanks were exposed 
to the rays of a carbon are light for 15 minutes for 
each color— 


Rise in Degrees F. 


0 EONS Sa a a 19.8 
Begin aint 62 6... s eee ooo s 20.5 
Bie AIT ks ee ce ee BED 
Meetee ream: Prost... .. ........+ 23.0 
RM he i lg ie weve bie 23.7 
OE A CS ea ce A 24.3 
RM hy ory esas oss. v vrais + 26.3 
MAST OCT ciill 5 cides Gs sis aces 26.6 
Precmiron.()xidevCaimt. Jo..0..0.% . 29.7 
Parke russian Blue Paint ....... 36.7 
Dark Chrome Green Paint ....... 39.9 
She = ENG] ee 54.0 


A study of this subject leads to the deduction that 


262 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


dark colored paints absorb heat rays to a greater extent 
than light colors and so increase tank temperatures, 
causing greater losses of volatile tank contents stored - 
therein than when white and light tints are used for 
painting the outsides of the tanks. Flat finishes also 
absorb more heat than gloss. So it is apparent that 
white and light colors with a gloss finish are best for 
such storage tank surfaces. 

Tanks containing acids which destroy ordinary paints 
should be coated with one of the acid proof prepared 
paints on the market. Ordinary paints for metal and 
wood will not wear long when acids are spilled on them 
or when subjected to strong fumes from certain acids. 





CHAPTER XI 
CEMENT AND BRICK PAINTS AND PAINTING 


Tue thought of painting concrete, cement and brick 
surfaces to increase their life is not at all common. 
Such surfaces are often painted but we take it for 
granted that it is simply for decoration. 

These surfaces are more or less porous. Water gets 
into the structure. The water freezes and the expand- 
ing of the ice gradually expands the size of each little 
pore or crack. Then more moisture gets in and freez- 
ing again the cracks are made larger. The process 
continues from year to year until large cracks appear 
in cement. Brick under the same evolution casts oft 
chips and some of the bricks crumble away. So it is 
evident that these surfaces require painting for pro- 
tection as well as for decoration. 

Buildings constructed of steel encased in concrete 
are especially in need of painting both the steel and 
the concrete to waterproof the cement. The destruc- 
tion of such steel by rust is promoted by electrolysis 
which simply means the travel of electrical currents 
which leak from high voltage lines on the surface of 
the steel. When the steel is damp or is covered with 
paint which is a good conductor of electricity—a rust 
stimulative paint instead of a rust inhibitive paint, 
corrosion proceeds continually. As long as the concrete 
is unprotected by waterproof foundations and by paint 
coatings above ground it will gather moisture and keep 
the steel moist, favoring rust formation. The steel 


should be painted with red lead or some other good 
263 


264 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


rust inhibitive paint like blue lead or one of the pre- 
pared paints made for this purpose and such paint 
should be mixed to dry flat or semi-flat so that the wet 
cement when poured into place around the painted steel 
will bond and attach itself firmly to the paint. A high 
gloss paint prevents proper bonding of the cement 
with the steel. Also the paint must be very dry. With 
the steel properly painted the next requirement is to 
paint the concrete to keep out moisture. 

Suitable Paints——There are on the market a number 
of high grade prepared paints made especially for use 
on cement, concrete and brick surfaces. They are worth 
the consideration of all who paint these surfaces. They 
are made with waterproofing oils, but otherwise are 
much like ordinary exterior paints. It is claimed for 
some of these special paints that they are not only 
waterproof but also proof against oil, gas, grease, acid, 
steam and stains. 

Neutralizing New Cement.—Although cement and 
concrete sets hard enough in a few days to carry a load 
the maturing process goes on for a long time. When 
the material is fully mature the surface outside which 
has been exposed to the weather becomes neutral,— 
that is, there is no longer any active cement or alkali 
on the surface which will burn paint spread over it. 

So when new cement and concrete surfaces are to be 
painted before they are a year old in the weather, steps 
should be taken to neutralize the active surface by 
treatment. For this purpose the best method known is 
to brush on to it a saturated solution of zine sulphate 
in water. Such a solution is made by dissolving 3 or 
4 pounds of zine sulphate crystals in a gallon of water. 
This is then put on to the surface liberally with brushes 
or better yet with spray guns which perform the work 
quickly. The surface must then be allowed to dry a 
day or two before proceeding with the paint. 

When paint is put on to surfaces where it is subjected 


8 ee 


a Ne ee eee a ae | a any i eer een 


sg Lite ot ta” oe ae a 


CEMENT AND BRICK PAINTS AND PAINTING 265 


to active free lime this alkali changes the oil to soap 
and the rain water soon washes the soap off, leaving 
the pigment on the surface without anything to bind 
it together and attach it to the surface. Naturally, 
then, the pigment too gradually washes off. The free 
lime also has a damaging effect on certain colors which 
fade or change in its presence. 

The zine sulphate treatment is not needed on old 
cement surfaces to neutralize them, but the wash is 
worth while anyway because it fills the pores and stops 
suction to a great extent, thus saving the amount of 
paint needed. 

Preparing Old Cement Surfaces——The first precau- 
tion is to make sure that the surface is as dry as 
possible before painting. Then it is only necessary to 
brush* down the surface with a broom to remove any 
loose sand or other accumulations and it is ready to 
paint. 

When old surfaces of this kind have been painted 
before and some of the paint is scaling in patches it 
is necessary to remove such loose paint scales, with 
steel wire brushes usually. 

Mixing the Paint.—For such surfaces as cement, con- 
erete and brick the first coat should contain quite a 
little more oil (and enough turpentine to make the 
paint dry semi-flat) than is needed for second and third 
coats. Usually lead paint will be mixed about right 
if you follow the proportions given for new exterior 
wood painting in Chapter VI. 

When using prepared factory-made paints follow 
the manufacturer’s directions to the letter. Usually 
such directions require that you add from a pint to a 
quart of turpentine and linseed oil—equal parts of 
each—to each gallon of the paint used for the first coat 
on new surfaces. Second and third coats are spread 
on just as the paint comes from the container. 

The covering capacity of paint on rough concrete 


266 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and cement and brick surfaces depends upon the rough- 
ness, porosity and moisture condition of the surface 
as well as upon how much the paint is brushed out. 
As an average it is safe to figure that one gallon will 
eover from 250 to 350 square feet of such surface. 

Brushing the Paint.—There is nothing special about 
coating these surfaces with paint in the nature of 
brushing. Use old brushes because the rough nature 
of cement, concrete and brick surfaces rapidly destroys 
the bristles in good brushes. Some prefer four or four 
and one-half inch flat wall brushes for this work while 
others like round or oval brushes. Coating such sur- 
faces with paint is very hard work at best. The paint 
should be made as thin as possible and still have it 
cover and hide the surface well. This kind of work is 
best done with spray guns. : 

Spraying the Paint—For many reasons it is more 
satisfactory to apply paints and stains to rough sur- 
faces like concrete, cement, brick, shingles, ete., with 
spray guns than with ordinary brushes. Such sur- 
faces quickly wear off the bristles of brushes, the work 
of spreading the paint is very hard and is a slow 
process because much of the paint must be poked into 
place. 

The use of spray guns for coating these surfaces saves 
a greater part of the labor cost and gets the job done 
in less time, because a first class spray gun outfit in the 
hands of a good operator will coat in from three to 
five times as much surface per day as can be done with 
one man using a common brush. 

The amount of paint used by the spray gun figures 
from less to about 10 per cent more than would be used 
by brush painting, depending upon the skill and interest 
of the gun operator. 

It is often possible to do such surfaces with only one 
coat sprayed on because the thickness of the paint film 
is under control and as much paint can be sprayed on 





CEMENT AND BRICK PAINTS AND PAINTING 267 


as is needed to hide the surface, as a rule, although if 
the paint has not the opacity of high class paints it 
will run before covering solidly in one coat. Although 
it is possible to spray on paint to a thickness which is 
equivalent to two or three brush coats, it is not always 
wise to do so. A well established principle in painting 
is that several thin coats dry harder and produce more 
durable coatings than a few thick coats. So it is usually 
preferred to spray on two coats to these rough surfaces 
when new. Old surfaces can usually be finished with 
one coat by the spray if the new paint is about the 
same color or darker than the old surface. 

As a rule less seaffolding is needed for spray paint- 
ing, although to gain speed in coating a surface so the 
spray gun equipment ean be hurried away to another 
job, even more equipment than is used on brush coated 
jobs is often found profitable. With the spray gun 
it is not necessary to get as comfortably near many 
surfaces as with a brush, and the spray gun has a long 
extension handle which saves much scaffolding under 
some conditions. 

Cement Floors.—Such floors as are made by mixing 
sodium silicate hardeners with the cement are strongly 
alkaline. They should be scrubbed with a hydrochloric 
acid and water solution—(5 parts acid to 95 parts 
water). Next wash the floor clean with clear water to 
remove every trace of acid. Let the surface dry thor- 
oughly before painting or varnishing. Use rubber 
gloves in handling the acid and do not breathe the fumes 
from the strong acid; it is injurious. After a cement 
floor has been neutralized it may be painted in the 
regular manner with floor paints made or mixed for 
wood floors. 

In some of the hospitals cement floors are treated 
with hot paraffin wax. After scrubbing thoroughly and 
allowing the floors to dry, the wax is put into a wash 
boiler and heated to the boiling point. The heating 


268 _ HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


must be done near the floor because the wax doesn’t 
penetrate unless put on very hot. The wax is spread 
with a large brush. Two or three coats put on leaves 
a fair gloss and the floor is not slippery. It is easy 
to clean. 

New Brick Surfaces.—A great deal of common yellow 
and white brick is being used now for residence con- 
struction and some of these surfaces are being painted 
or stained. As a rule the only preparation given these 
new surfaces is to brush them down vigorously with a 
stiff broom to remove all sand and loose mortar. 

The paints which are suitable for brick surfaces are 
those which are in common use for cement, concrete 
and wood surfaces—both prepared and painter-mixed 
paints are used. 

Flat brick red is most extensively used in some of 
the eastern states where old brick houses are much in 
evidence. There is little reason for selecting this 
gloomy color except that it has always been done and 
the paint is cheap and durable. The paint is usually 
mixed in these proportions: 

First Coat—New Brick 
80 lbs. Venetian red 
20 lbs. white lead 
5 gal. boiled linseed oil 
1 gal. turpentine 
Makes about 11 gallons of paint 


Finishing Coat—Sem-Flat 


100 Ibs. Venetian red 
3 gal. boiled linseed oil 
2 gal. turpentine 
Makes about 11 gallons of paint 


A brick red as used in some sections is mixed this 
way :— 





CEMENT AND BRICK PAINTS AND PAINTING 269 


4 lbs. white lead 
2 lbs. Venetian red 
1 lb. Indian red 


When white lead paint is to be mixed for brick sur- 
faces the following proportions are about right, al- 
though some surfaces of this kind are more porous than 
others and so require more oil :— 


First Coat 


100 lbs. white lead 
4 gal. pure boiled linseed oil 
1 gal. turpentine 
Makes about 734 gallons of paint 


Second Coat 


100 lbs. white lead 
4 gal. pure boiled linseed oil 
1 pint turpentine 

Makes about 634 gallons of paint 


Third Coat 
Use same mixture as for second coat. 


Old Brick Surfaces.—The preparatory work on these 
surfaces usually amounts to no more than brushing 
them down with a broom to remove all loose dirt. 

Cracked and scaled paint on brick walls is very com- 
monly found and it is always a problem to decide what 
to do about it. When the scaling is in evidence only 
in patches, small areas here and there, it is reasonable 
to believe that most of the paint on the walls is firmly 
attached. Then only the scaling paint on these few 
small patches is removed by scraping and sandpapering. 
The bare spots are touched up with a coat of paint 
before a coat is spread over the entire surface, which 
means an extra coat of paint on the bare spots. 

But when the cracking and scaling of paint is gen- 
eral or the patches sufficiently numerous to make one 





270 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


believe that all of the paint has an uncertain attach- 
ment on the surface, there is little to be done except to 
burn and scrape off all of the old paint so as to give 
your new paint a fair chance to attach itself to the 
brick. Otherwise the new paint would have to depend 
upon the very insecure foundation offered by the old 
paint,—it too would seale off in time under these cir- 
cumstances. The method to pursue in burning and 
seraping off paint is described in Chapter XIV. 

Staiming Brick Surfaces—Common brick being used 
considerably now for residences of the English cottage 
type of architecture and for large fireplace chimneys ex- 
posed on the outside of other styles of architecture is 
often stained white or a color. The staining is done in 
the common manner by brushing on regular shingle 
stains or by spraying these stains on to the brick. The 
stains in colors are mixed thin enough to color the sur- 
face without hiding the dark and light spots in the 
brick. In other words a mottled color blended effect is 
wanted, not a uniform color over the entire surface. 

Brick Iining.—The liner brush illustrated in Plate 
36, Chapter II is used for painting the brick mortar 
with black as a rule. A well trained hand at this 
needs no straightedge to follow the mortar joints with 
the flat black. The black paint is usually lamp black 
mixed with linseed oil and enough turpentine to make 
it dry without gloss. This lining is usually done on 
brick painted with the common flat brick red,—Vene- 
tian red. | 

Cleaning Brick Surfaces.—An efflorescence on brick, 
the white cloudy substance commonly known, may 
usually be removed when the greater part of the sub- 
stance is calcium sulphate by washing and scrubbing 
the surface with a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid, 
—one part of strong acid to five parts of water. In 
some other cases the walls are washed with water con- 
taining about two pounds of laundry soap to a gallon 





Se ee ee ee ee eo 


‘CEMENT AND BRICK PAINTS AND PAINTING 271 


of water. After this a dish of water in which one pound 
of alum to the gallon is dissolved will clean up the ac- 
cumulation. 

Stains on brick are removed by various washes. 
Water stains usually can be removed by scrubbing with 
a wash made of one half pound of oxalic acid in a pail of 
hot water. Rub the surface stain with a piece of sand- 
stone of fine texture or a lump of pumice stone or an 
artificial rubbing brick dipped into the water and acid 
wash. After this bleach, wash the surface well with 
clear water. 

Soot and smoke stains can usually be washed off 
with warm water and soft soap or water and sal soda. 
Sometimes a paste is made of water, sal soda and 
whiting. It is smeared on wet and allowed to dry, then 
washed off and the surface is thoroughly washed with 
clear water before painting. 

Marble and fine stone fronts can usually be cleaned 
by washing with water in which a little ammonia has 
been dissolved. Rub the surface with a lump of fine 
pumice stone or a rubbing brick soaked in the water. 








CHAPTER XII 
A STUDY OF WOODS AND SURFACES 


A qaoop painter wants to know all about the char- 
acter and the condition of the surface he is to paint 
before he mixes the paint or makes an estimate of the 
work to be done and the cost. There are great dif- 
ferences between both new and old surfaces, which not 
only call for more or less labor, but which alter the 
proportions of pigments and liquids and the relation 
of oil, turpentine and drier to the pigments. 

Penetration and Anchorage of Paints——When we look 
at a razor blade which is a very keen edge we get the 
impression of a straight line. But look at the same edge 
with a powerful magnifying glass and that sharp sur- 
face proves to be all cut up like the cutting edge of 
a earpenter’s saw. And so it is with wood, metal, 
cement and other surfaces we paint. We think of them 
as solids, smooth and compact. As a matter of fact 
even the hardest of steel surfaces is filled with little 
pores which offer anchorage for paint. 

Paint attaches itself to a surface by penetrating 
into the little pores, cracks and crevices and anchoring 
there. Turpentine and benzole aid this penetration. 
The deeper the penetration the more firmly attached 
the paint is and the more likely the paint will per- 
manently adhere to the surface and make a good foun- 
dation for all future painting during the years to 
come. When these pores are clogged up with dirt, rust, 
old crumbling paint or an excess of sap, pitch or resin, 
as with pitch pine and cypress, paint has little oppor- 

272 


ee aed 


A STUDY OF WOODS AND SURFACES 273 


tunity to penetrate and anchor itself. Consequently 
the paint scales off. Perhaps not in a year; sometimes 
not until the surface has been painted a dozen years 
or more and has accumulated a thick paint film after 
the third or fourth painting. Then the weak attach- 
ment of the very first coat of paint is overcome by the 
excessive weight of the thick paint film and the paint 
cracks and scales off. 

Expansion and Contraction of Surfaces—AIl build- 
ing materials expand at high temperatures and contract 
at low temperatures. Some surfaces expand and con- 
tract to a greater degree than others. In the hght of 
these facts it is obvious that paint must be elastic 
enough to expand and contract with the surface it 
protects. Otherwise it will break when the surface 
gets hot. The rain will get into the breaks and soon 
the paint will be worked off in scales. 

Linseed oil makes paint elastic. Turpentine and 
benzine decrease the elasticity of paint. Some var- 
nishes and enamels are very elastic. The long oil 
varnishes like spar are very elastic. All finishing var- 
nishes used outside must be elastic. Rubbing varnishes, 
on the other hand, are short,—they are hard and more 
or less brittle which is necessary to withstand the rub- 
bing. Interior enamels are rather short and brittle to 
withstand rubbing and wear from abrasion. There is 
no need for great elasticity in these materials because the 
range of temperature differences in interiors 1s not 
great. Exterior enamels are made with greater elas- 
ticity because they must withstand the great range of 
temperatures from below zero to over one hundred 
degrees above in some localities. 

Cracked and Scaled Paint.—Some old surfaces show 
small areas of scaling paint,—a board or two here and 
there. When such sealing is due to a moisture-soaked 
board, to a board or two loaded with pitch, the remedy 
before repainting is to simply scrape off such loose 


274 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


scales, sandpaper down the rough edges of the paint, 
burn over with a paint burner torch to remove any 
excess of pitch or moisture and touch up the bare spots 
with a coat of paint before repainting the whole surface. 

When great areas of a painted surface are covered 
with sealing paint, there is good reason to believe that 
the paint is at fault, being too hard and brittle to ex- 
pand and contract with the wood during temperature 
changes, or that the last paint put on was spread over 
a priming coat of that nature. The preparatory treat- 
ment of such a surface sometimes amounts to no more 
than removing the paint scales, but that is only a post- 
ponement of the evil day. No painter can guarantee 
new paint against continued cracking and sealing when 
put on over old paint foundations of that character. 
The old paint continues to scale off and the new paint 
is prevented from gaining any anchorage for itself in 
the pores of the wood. The proper remedy is to remove 
every inch of the old paint before spreading the new. 
The most practical way to remove the old paint is to 
burn and scrape it off using a gasoline or acetylene 
torch, such as were illustrated in Plates 90 and 91. 
The method to pursue in the removal of the old paint 
is described in Chapter XIV. 

Inspect Old Surfaces Carefully—sStudy old paint on 
a house to determine if it was primed with yellow ochre. 
Look for spots that have been heavily coated and are 
ready to break loose when you put additional weight on 
them by spreading on more paint. Look for damp- 
ness from basements, drain pipes, down spouts and wet 
soil. Before you add more weight with new paint, see 
that dampness has not undermined the old paint and 
that the wood doesn’t contain enough moisture to cause 
the new paint to break loose soon after the new job 
has been finished. If there are sources of moisture 
supply to the wood like leaky rain gutters, rusted out 
tin flashings over windows, dormers, ete., you cannot 


A STUDY OF WOODS AND SURFACES 275 


make paint stick to the wood until these leaks are re- 
paired. ‘ 
Beware of loose scales, fine or powdered paint. Even 
if they do not look dangerous they will keep your new 
paint from anchoring in the pores of the wood. Mil- 
dew on a painted surface is usually proof that there 
is dampness in the wood. Paint put on over mildew 
will peel off. New paint put on over old paint which 
has shriveled is quite likely to break loose and scale off. 


DESCRIPTIONS OF COMMON WOODS 


An intimate knowledge of the structure and char- 
acteristics of each of the common woods which painters 
are called upon to paint is of great value. It is not 
enough to know the woods used years ago, because as 
the supplies of old woods become scarce, new varieties 
come on to the market. The painting of some of these 
newer woods requires special knowledge and under- 
standing. 

The very best way to learn the character of each kind 
of wood is to study unfinished samples of the woods. 
Get a board of each kind from the lumber yard or 
mill. Failing to secure all kinds write the lumber 
manufacturers’ associations for sample panels. They 
will be glad to supply you with the samples and litera- 
ture describing the woods. You will find advertise- 
ments published by the various lumber manufacturers’ 
associations printed in many magazines. When you 
get the samples finish some of them to note how they 
become changed by staining, varnishing, filling, ete. 
Note how they absorb paint,—oil paint, flat paint, tur- 
pentine, ete. 

Don’t overlook the fact that the wood from a single 
tree differs in grain and color, depending upon whether 
the boards were cut from the outside or the heart of 
the tree. 

Other points of interest and importance about woods 


276 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


is to determine whether a sample is a hard, open grain, 
or a hard, close grain; soft, close grain or very soft, 
open grain; whether the wood is generally soft and 
spongy or compact and solid. 

The permanence of a paint job is influenced, also, 
by whether the lumber has been kiln dried or air 
seasoned. When kiln dried too rapidly the wood may 
have become case hardened, and it is then brittle and 
lifeless. It has lost part of its strength. The paint 
for such wood must be mixed to a thin consistency and 
with enough turpentine or benzole to assure penetra- 
tion through the case hardened area to a depth suf- 
ficient to reach the vital wood below it. Paint made 
heavy in consistency simply lies on the surface. And 
when the dead fibres of the case hardened surface 
break away by contraction and expansion of the wood 
with temperature changes, the paint scales off with it. 
Of course, such paint failures are charged against the 
painter and the paint. Air seasoned wood has lost none 
of its strength and vitality, so it affords a firm footing 
for paint. 

Another circumstance which makes it necessary for 
painters to simply take a chance is that the lumber in 
a single house may represent many kinds of material,— 
some may be kiln dried, some air seasoned, some cut 
in the winter when the sap was down and some cut 
in the summer when the sap was up. Practically you 
cannot have a different kind of paint mixture to suit 
every kind of lumber, but a knowledge of these things 
often enables a painter to understand and explain paint 
failures, instead of being forced to take the blame, foot 
the bill and wonder himself why the job went wrong. 

The necessity for mixing paint thin for some lumber 
in order to make it stick explains why it is impossible 
to do two-coat. jobs which are durable. When the paint 
is made thin enough to penetrate it doesn’t hide the 


A STUDY OF WOODS AND SURFACES 277 


surface well enough to make a good looking job with 
only one more coat. 

White Pine—Although painters today are called 
upon to repaint many old buildings constructed of 
white pine, a new building put up with this lumber 
would be a rare sight in most localities. Supplies of 
this remarkable wood have dwindled to the point where 
it is too expensive to be used for any except special 
purposes like water tables on residences and some of 
the other trim boards. It is used for sash bars and 
to some extent for interior cabinet work, but for struce- 
tural timbers and siding and sheathing white pine is 
a wood of the past on new structures. 

Hard Pine.—This name is a bit indefinite since it 
refers to yellow pine, long leaf pine, short leaf pine, 
Georgia pine, Southern pine, Norway pine and pitch 
pine. All these woods are very similar and the names 
are different largely because the trees come from many 
localities. Of course there are real differences, tech- 
nically, between these woods, but they are much alike 
for the purposes of painting. 

As its name implies, hard pine is a hard, coarse- 
grained wood and the space between the open fibres 
is filled solidly with gum or sap. It is a heavy, tough, 
strong wood. The color is deep red in the sap streaks, 
but light yellow as a general color. 

The first cut from the outside of the log, the sap 
wood, of this tree is real light yellow, while the middle 
and inside cuts of heartwood from the log are a red- 
dish orange color. The sapwood is soft, open grained 
and it makes a good foundation for paint, since it allows 
pretty fair penetration. 

The wood from the center of the log, the heart- 
wood, is completely filled with resinous gum which 
offers very little opportunity for the paint to pene- 
trate. Much scaling of paint is due to painting over 
this wood without an understanding of its require- 


278 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


ments. This wood is difficult to season because the 
excess of sap prevents the moisture from evaporating. 

The painting of hard pine surfaces is always a dif- 
ficult thing to do because of the difficulty of gaining 
sufficient penetration and also because a building may 
have in it lumber which is very much mixed,—some 
soft and open grained and some very much filled with 
sap. When there are only a few boards here and there 
which appear to be excessively loaded with sap gum 
the best way to proceed is to get out your paint burn- 
ing torch and scorch these pitch-streaked boards enough 
to boil some of the gum out and to rough up the smooth 
surface. 

The mixing of paint for pitch-filled boards should 
include considerably more turpentine and less oil than 
for. fairly absorbent woods, as much as half turpentine 
and half oil are necessary. In some sections the 
painters prefer to use benzole (160 degrees solvent 
naphtha) in place of turpentine with the oil. This 
benzole works about the same as turpentine and evapo- 
rates about as rapidly. It is a powerful solvent and 
will cut the gum and sap in the wood long enough to 
allow the oil and pigment to penetrate and anchor, 
then it will completely evaporate. Thin coats of paint 
well brushed in and out are an absolute necessity on 
this wood. Thick coats rich in oil often cause cracking 
and sealing of the paint. The grain figure or sap 
streaks of this wood are so dark that it is difficult -to 
hide them with thin coats of paint, so three coats of 
paint are usually necessary to get a nice looking job. 

The long leaf yellow pine tree is the one from which 
turpentine is extracted. The lumber from this tree 
retains much of the turpentine sap gum and when the 
sun beats down on such lumber this sap is apt to be 
drawn to the surface. Then the sap destroys the life of 
the oil in the paint which has been improperly mixed 
with too much oil and too little turpentine. 


A STUDY OF WOODS AND SURFACES 279 


One safeguard in painting new lumber of this kind 
is to allow the building to stand in the weather a few 
months without paint. The sun and rain will draw 
out enough of the sap gum then to permit better pene- 
tration. The wood is also roughened up a little and 
that is an advantage because a rough surface holds more 
paint in place and permits white and light colors to 
hide the dark sap streaks more completely. The dif- 
ficulty with this plan is that few home owners want 
to look at an unfinished house that long and that if 
good judgment is not shown too long an exposure will 
cause the soft, open grained boards in the building to 
open up at the joints, nail holes, ete. This lumber 
warps rather easily on exposure to the sun and rain. 

For interior trim this kind of pine is usually finished 
simply by varnishing. It is sometimes stained attrac- 
tively with brown stains, but will not take gray stains. 
The wood gets darker with age when finished in its 
natural color. It may be painted and enameled suc- 
cessfully when care is taken to use very little oil in the 
first coat and no oil in succeeding coats. 

Poplar.—The other names for poplar are whitewood 
and yellow poplar. Poplar has had extensive use for 
clapboards or weatherboard siding on residences, but 
cypress is taking its place in some sections. It is a soft, 
clear, close and straight-grained wood which 1s not very 
elastic. It shrinks little on being seasoned, and while it 
is light in weight, it is strong enough for the purpose. 
One of the easiest of woods to paint, it has the ability to 
absorb paint, offering excellent penetration and anchor- 
age. Not extensively used for interior trim but it makes 
an excellent foundation for white enamel finishes. It 
takes stain well but its grain figure is not very attractive. 

Cypress.—A most enduring wood and one which is 
being used rather extensively for clapboard siding on 
building exteriors, for sash, doors, floors and many 
other purposes where the ability to stand up against 


280 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


moisture and the weather generally is especially de- 
sired. Cypress is a close, straight grained, soft wood. 
The heartwood of the tree is rather a dark brown, while 
the sapwood is a yellowish white. 

Cypress weatherboards, clapboard siding and sim- 
ilar cuts show great contrasts of color. When used for 
interior trim or for any purpose requiring a fairly uni- 
form color in natural finish, cypress must be selected 
to gain some uniformity of color, the variations of color 
between sapwood and heartwood are great. Penetrating 
stains will even up the color differences, as a rule, how- 
ever. 

In dry kilns eypress acts badly and so most of it 
is seasoned. by air drying. When well seasoned it 
doesn’t shrink abnormally, nor does it swell and warp 
in the presence of moisture. 

The painting of cypress while not difficult requires 
a bit of special knowledge and understanding of the 
nature of the wood. Because of the oily sap which per- 
meates the wood, oil paint doesn’t penetrate and gain 
sufficient anchorage unless mixed properly. The prim- 
ing coat only of paint for cypress should be mixed to 
contain about 40 per cent of benzole (160 degrees 
solvent naphtha), 10 per cent turpentine and 50 per 
eent linseed oil. That would make your formula read 
about like this: 


100 Ibs. white lead 
214 gal. linseed oil 
2 gal. benzole 
11% gal. turpentine 
Makes 734 gallons of paint. 


Benzole is one of the greatest penetrating solvents 
of resin, gums, grease, ete. It cuts into the oily sap 
of cypress and the gum resin of hard yellow pine, aids 
the paint pigment and oil to penetrate and gain 
anchorage and then the benzole evaporates completely. 


A STUDY OF WOODS AND SURFACES 281 


Benzole works about like turpentine in the paint, evapo- 
rates about as quickly and is very inflammable. Great 
care must be taken to keep fire away from it. The paint 
must be well brushed in and out. 

Benzole must never be used in any except the priming 
coats of paint. If used in a second or third coat it will 
soften up the under coats of paint. 

Benzole is a coal tar naphtha, a by-product of gas 
works by distillation from gas tar. It is waterwhite 
and will freeze solid in low temperatures. It is some- 
times used to rough-up old varnish coats which are 
to be painted over. A coat of benzole brushed on saves 
rubbing with sandpaper before painting. Benzole looks 
like benzine but has a decidedly different odor. 

Douglas Fir—This wood is also called Oregon Pine 
and is cut from giant trees which are made to furnish 
lumber for many purposes. The grain of fir is rather 
interesting and gives the appearance of watered silk. 
This is a light weight, strong, soft and close grained 
wood. It is porous enough to absorb considerable paint 
and offers a good foundation for painting and en- 
ameling. Its color is quite light. Fir is used for 
exterior surfaces, for timbers, sash, doors and for in- 
terior trim. It requires no filler for interior trim, stains 
well with oil and spirit stains. Water stains raise the 
erain considerably, too much to be smoothed with sand- 
paper. 

Hemlock.—A wood which is quite extensively used 
for exterior construction. It is a coarse, rough, soft 
wood with open grain. When well seasoned it is light 
in weight and in color. It warps badly and splits. A 
pile of it in the hot sun will literally crawl all over the 
lot. The western hemlock is better as a rule than the 
eastern and middle-west product. 

This wood is not as easy to paint well as some others. 
It absorbs the paint unevenly in spots and the paint 
upon it dries slowly. The paint must be well brushed 


282 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


into the wood to gain good anchorage. Hemlock is not 
used for interior trim lumber. 

Cottonwood.—Most of this wood is used for making 
paper pulp, but some is used for building construction. 
It is substituted for whitewood (poplar) but is not as 
good. Cottonwood is a close grained, compact, light- 
weight wood and is very soft indeed. The sapwood is 
nearly white while the heartwood is dark brown. This 
wood has little strength and warps to a considerable 
extent 

It is not difficult to paint this wood because it absorbs 
paint readily and offers good anchorage for it. It is so 
soft and porous, however, that extreme care must be 
taken to be sure it is dry, because it absorbs much 
moisture. When allowed to stand in the weather un- 
painted it molds, turns very dark and decays on the 
surface. In that condition it is a treacherous wood to 
paint, the wood fibres having little strength, the paint 
scales off as the wood on the surface crumbles away. 
Cottonwood is also subject to dry-rot. Sometimes when 
painted while wet, dry rot occurs under the paint 
causing the paint to scale off. So paint cottonwood 
only when absolutely dry, use plenty of oil and allow 
plenty of time for each coat to dry,—a week between 
coats is little enough. 

Basswood.—This wood is also ealled linn and linden. 
It is a straight, close-grained wood, soft and compact in 
structure. Light in color and in weight and only mod- 
erately strong. It is used to a limited extent for 
building construction. Rather too soft. The painting 
of basswood is easily accomplished. It absorbs paint 
well, affording good anchorage and penetration. Mix 
the paint thin with both linseed oil and turpentine to 
secure penetration into the compact structure of the 
wood. Owing to the very light color and absence of 
prominent grain figure in this wood, it is easy to cover 
and hide with white paint. 


A STUDY OF WOODS AND SURFACES 283 
Redwood.—A wood which is used rather extensively 
on the Pacific coast for both exterior and interior con- 
struction. It is light in weight, brittle, soft, coarse but 
close-grained wood. The grain structure is even and 
compact. It is a beautiful dark red in color and is 
without very prominent grain figures. An easy wood 
to paint because it absorbs paint readily offering good 
penetration and anchorage. Being dark in color, three 
coats are usually necessary to hide the red color. The 
paint should be mixed thin with the usual amount of 
oil and turpentine. Redwood used for interiors re- 
quires no filler. The varnish coats are sufficient to fill 
the wood which is usually finished in the natural red 
without stain. Redwood can be stained and it also is a 
substantial foundation for enamel finishing coats. 

Cedar Woods.—Several kinds of cedar are used for 
various purposes in different localities. White cedar 
is used for exterior building construction rather ex- 
tensively in some sections. A wood of light weight, 
soft, brittle, close grained and compact character. And 
of course all cedars are durable woods. The sapwood 
of white cedar is light in color while the heartwood is 
brown. An easy wood to paint because it absorbs paint 
well and offers good penetration and anchorage. Con- 
siderable oil is needed to satisfy suction. Use thin coats. 
White cedar takes stains well. 

California and Oregon cedars are similar and are 
used for exterior construction. These woods are light 
in weight, soft, strong and durable. They are close 
grained and absorb paint well, offering good pene- 
tration and anchorage. At least three thin coats are 
needed and four coats of paint are much better in order 
to supply enough oil. 

Red Cedar is used in a limited way for exterior lum- 
ber and extensively for making shingles,—the very best 
lumber for this purpose. Lead pencils are made from 
this wood. A light weight, soft, close, even grained 


284 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


wood which is not very strong. The sapwood is white 
and the heartwood is red. Oil of cedar is made from 
this tree and that oil is a paint solvent. So unless the 
wood is well seasoned this oil will likely destroy the 
paint coatings. Red cedar doesn’t absorb paint readily 
nor does it offer good penetration and anchorage. Paint 
dries slowly on it. Mix paint for it thin, with plenty 
of turpentine and allow plenty of time for each coat to 
dry. The dark color of the wood and the necessity for 
thin coats makes it imperative to use at least three coats 
on new wood. 

Washington cedar is considered a soft wood, but 
the trees produce wood which is both soft and fairly 
hard. This wood is very close grained but is light in 
weight. It absorbs paint rather unevenly. Thin coats 
well brushed out and with a little more turpentine than 
usual are needed. Allow plenty of time for each coat 
to dry. 

Chestnut.—This wood is so near to oak in the appear- 
ance of the grain figure that few ean tell the difference. 
It is a light weight, coarse grained wood. It is open 
grained, of course, and is very durable. Chestnut is 
little used for exterior building construction and not 
to any great extent anywhere. Its open grain doesn’t 
absorb paint as readily as might appear. The paint 
doesn’t seem to penetrate. Mix paint thin with a 
liberal amount of turpentine and brush out each coat, 
allowing plenty of time to dry. Chestnut interior trim 
may be stained attractively and a filler is required 
when varnishing. 


CHAPTER XIII 


ESTIMATING MATERIALS REQUIRED 


THE subject of estimating in its broader meaning is 
far too large to be covered in detail and completely in 
one chapter. Estimating properly includes consid- 
eration not alone of methods for calculating materials 
required for a job, but also labor required, and the 
addition of overhead expense and profit. So the subject 
has been presented in another book (‘‘ Estimates, Costs, 
and Profits’’) where adequate space could be devoted 
to each phase of the problems. 

There are, of course, many variations in the methods 
pursued by painters who estimate materials needed, who 
take off the quantities, as it is called. And no matter 
what method is followed many considerations are left 
for the estimator’s judgment. Some rely upon 
measuring surfaces with rule or tape line more or less 
accurately, while others step off the distances. Still 
others who are older and experienced at the business 
merely look the room or house over and are able to tell 
rather accurately what will be required. Very rarely 
is it necessary to measure accurately any surface unless 
it is one of a great many which are exact duplicates 
and when the measure of one area is to be multiplied 
many times to get the total area of a large structure. 
Then a small error would be increased so many times 
that it would amount to considerable. 

Taking off quantities from blue prints is identical 
with taking them from a finished building, except that 


the estimator must be able to read the blue print scales 
285 


—————— 328 fort 
e 


286 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


and to visualize completed rooms from floor plans 
and detail sketches. 

Figuring the amount of paint required is simply a 
matter of common arithmetic. It is a matter of multi- 
plying width by height to arrive at the area in square 
feet. Then when the covering capacity of the paint is 
known in square feet you have simply to divide the 
total number of square feet in a building surface by 500 








Plate 124.—Simple Building Outlines for Estimating 


or 600 square feet (if that is what a gallon of your paint 
will cover) and the result is the number of gallons of 
paint needed. 

Measuring Surfaces.—The very first step to take is 
to get into your mind a picture of the building in its 
very simple outline, its most simple form as indicated 
by Plate 124. 

Take your first measure by starting at one corner of 


ne a 


ESTIMATING MATERIALS REQUIRED 287 


the house and measuring the number of feet across to 
the next corner, then continue to the third corner and 
around the house back again to the point where you 
began. 

The second step is to measure the distance from the 
bottom of the side wall to the top of the side wall up 
under the eaves of the roof. Indicated as 16 feet on 
Plate 124, ‘‘B’’. This does not include the gable. 

Having the total distance around the house (24 plus 
40 plus 24 plus 40 = 128) and the height to the top of 
the wall (16 feet), multiply one by the other, thus 


16 feet x 128 feet = 2048 square feet, the 
area of the two sides and two ends. 


To find the area of the gable ends multiply the height 
by one half of the width of the house. In the example 
‘‘B’? and **D”’ Plate 124, we have the width of the 
house as 24 feet and the height of the gable as 8 feet, 
so multiply thus,— 


12 feet x 8 feet — 96 square feet as the area 
of one gable end. There are two ends, so 
double the area of one end and you have 192 
square feet for the area of two gable ends. 


To find the area of the roof is simply a matter of: 
measuring, or estimating the measure based on the 
eround measure of the house. In the example al Or 
Plate 124, we have each pitch of the roof with a measure 
of 18 feet and the length of the roof is 48 feet. Note 
that the roof overhangs the house 4 feet on both sides 
and both ends which makes the roof 8 feet longer than 
the foundation of the house, and more than 8 feet wider 
than the foundation because the rise in the roof rafters 
lengthens them over what would be needed for a flat 
roof. So the ealculation of the roof area is simply a 
matter of,— 


288 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


18 feet plus 18 feet—=36 feet. 

36 feet x 48 feet—1728 square feet for the area 
of the roof. | 

Your total estimate for the building then 


would read,— : 
Two Ends and Two Sides.......... 2048 aquare feet 
Two Gable nds); 232.2 oes ane 192 


Root: -=..A78 fee che ee 1728 mn 


3968 square feet 
is the total area of the house. 

No account has been taken of window and door open- 
ings. The casings and mouldings of these will as a 
rule take as much paint as an equal area of solid sur- 
face, so allow no deductions for such openings. And 
of course it will take much more time to paint windows 
and doors than an equal area of plain surface. 

Few buildings are as simple as the example given, 
but the buildings which have L-shaped wings can be 
figured as separate buildings, allowing only three sides, 
of course, because one side butts up to the main house. 

The number of gallons of paint required to paint 
this surface is calculated by simply dividing the area 
of the surface by the number of square feet a gallon of 
the paint will cover. If a gallon of the paint you have 
will cover 600 sq. ft., one coat, the requirement is figured 
as follows: 


3968 square feet divided by 600 square feet 
==6.6138, or a little over 614 gallons of paint for 
each coat. 


Covering Capacity of Paints—-When the wit says 
that something is ‘‘as long as a string and as wide as a 
board,’’ he gives almost as good an answer as can be 
given to the question as to how much surface a gallon 
of paint will cover. 

The answer depends upon the paint, upon the color, 


se 


ESTIMATING MATERIALS REQUIRED 289 


upon the surface and upon the man who brushes or 
sprays the paint. The thickness of the film spread, the 
absorption of the surface and the roughness of the 
surface govern, too. 

Some paints have greater opacity and spreading 
power than others of the same color, due to the kind 
and quantity of basic pigments contained. White and 
light tints will cover less surface than black and dark 
eolors. Dark colors will usually be spread out to a 
thinner film of paint than light colors, just because it 
is possible to do it easily. 

White and light tints will cover a greater number of 
square feet per gallon when spread on top of light- 
colored wood, or old paint which is light in color, than 
when spread on black or dark, or dirty surfaces. 

Any paint, light or dark, will cover more surface per 
gallon when spread on smooth surfaces, like iron and 
steel, than when spread on rough surfaces which catch 
and hold a thick film of paint, like brick and shingles, 
for instance. And any paint, light or dark, will cover 
more surface when that surface is hard and well filled, 
having little suction, than when dry, porous and 
absorbent. 

The limit of spreading ability of paint is reached 
when that paint ceases to hide and cover the surface — 
well. Pigments which are very opaque like white lead, 
titanium oxide, lithopone, zine, lamp black, Venetian 
red, Prussian blue and some others can be spread out 
to a very thin film and still they will completely obscure 
the surface. On the other hand such pigments as silica, 
barytes, whiting, clay and a number of others must be 
spread in very thick films to hide the surface at all 
well, When dry these pigments look quite lke the 
other white pigments, but as soon as they are mixed 
with oil they become rather transparent. 

It is quite out of the question to strike an average 
statement as to the amount of surface one gallon of 


290 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 

paint will cover as between light colors and dark, first, 
second and third coats, new and old surfaces, rough and 
smooth surfaces. The facts in each case must determine 
the capacity of the paint. Perhaps the following 
statements of specific cases will be of assistance: 

New Wood Surfaces.—For the priming coat, of white 
or light color, on woods which are soft and absorbent, 
like yellow and southern pine, one gallon of paint will 
usually cover well about 350 square feet, one coat. 
On hard pitch pine and similar non-absorbent woods 
a gallon of white and light tints will cover about 400 
square feet, one coat. Tints and dark shades on the 
soft woods will cover from 400 to 500 square feet per 
gallon of paint. Tints and shades on hard, non- 
absorbent woods will cover up to 600 square feet per 
gallon, one coat. 

Old Wood Surfaces.——When the old paint is very dry, 
is chalking considerably and is quite absorbent, a gallon 
of white and light-tinted. paints will cover on an aver- 
age about 500 to 600 square feet, one coat. When the 
old surface is weather-beaten, much less surface will be 
covered by a gallon of paint,—in some eases not over 
250 to 350 square feet of such surface will be covered 
by a gallon of white or light tinted paint. Old surfaces 
which are well preserved and not unusually absorbent 
will be covered at the rate of about 650 square feet, one 
coat, per gallon of paint, when the new paint is not 
lighter in color than the old. When the old paint is 
lighter in color than the new, more surface per gallon 
will be covered,—and when the old paint is darker than 
the new, less surface will be covered. Shades and dark 
colors on old dry, porous painted surfaces will cover 
about 600 to 700 square feet per gallon, one coat. When 
the old paint is only normally absorbent and is not 
chalking excessively, shades and dark colors cover from 
700 to 800 square feet per gallon, one coat. A gallon of 


ESTIMATING MATERIALS REQUIRED 291 


lamp black and oil paint here will cover up to 1000 
square feet. 

New Brick Surfaces——On new, soft brick a gallon of 
white or light tints will cover from 100 to 150 square 
feet, one coat. Shades and dark colors will cover from 
150 to 200 square feet, one coat. Hard pressed brick, 
when the joints are well made, will be covered at the 
rate of 350 square feet per gallon of white or light 
tinted paint, one coat. Shades and dark colors will 
cover up to 400 square feet per gallon, one coat on this 
surface. 

Old Brick Surfaces—Figuire covering capacities on 
these about the same as for old wood surfaces, but 
allowing a little more paint for the rough mortar joints. 

Cement Surfaces—Some fairly rough cement sur- 
faces will be covered with paint at about the same rate 
as soft brick. Very smooth cement surfaces may be 
figured the same as pressed brick. Rough and rugged 
stucco cement surfaces absorb or afford lodgment for a 
ereat deal of paint,—more will be required for brushing 
than for spraying on the surfaces. Depending upon the 
degree of roughness and porosity of the stucco, a gallon 
of white paint and light tints will cover about 100 
square feet, one coat. Shades and dark colors will cover 
up to 150 or 200 square feet, one coat. 

Metal Surfaces—The nature of the metal surface 
_ has much to do with the covering capacity of a gallon 
of metal paint, and of course the disposition of the 
painter to brush it out thin or flow it on thick is all 
important. Paint spread upon structural iron, bridge 
members and similar iron will not cover as much sur- 
face as when the same paint is spread upon large steel 
tanks like gas holders, railroad tank cars and similar 
large areas. Reports of coverage on various surfaces 
are at considerable variance with each other. Here are 
such as will shed some light on what has been done in 
actual work: 


292 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


The foreman painter of an eastern railroad reports 
red lead paint covers 650 square feet per gallon, one 
coat, when spread full. The United Gas Company, 
Philadelphia, using a heavy paint on steel gas holders, 
the very large tanks, reports coverage of 900 square 
feet per gallon of paint, one coat. Contractors who 
painted some Pennsylvania Railroad bridges report a 
coverage with red lead of 900 square feet per gallon, 
one coat. On new steel ship hulls the Maryland Steel 
Company reports a coverage of 840 square feet per 
gallon, one coat, with red lead paint, using it heavy. 
The Massachusetts Water Commission reports a cover- 
age of 700 square feet per gallon, one coat, for red lead 
mixed on the basis of 33 lbs. of dry red lead to 1 gallon 
of linseed oil. Blue lead mixed in the proportion of 70 
Ibs. of pigments to 30 lbs. of oil and thinners is reported 
to cover from 600 to 800 square feet per gallon, 
one coat, on structural steel. Aluminum paint made 
in the proportion of from 114 to 2 lbs of dry powder to 
1 gallon of heavy bodied linseed oil, or twenty per cent 
to sixty per cent spar varnish with ordinary boiled lin- 
seed oil, is reported to cover from 600 to 900 square feet, 
one coat, per gallon on smooth metal. White lead paints 
and high grade, ready-mixed paints will cover more sur- 
face on metal than on wood, as much as 700 or 800. 
square feet per gallon, one coat, on some surfaces. On 
railroad steel tank cars one test reported determined 
that paint made of two-thirds white lead and one-third 
zine, tinted with lamp black to a medium gray, and 
thinned with linseed oil, covered not to exceed 515 
square feet when skilfully brushed out. 

Shingle Stains—For the average run of cedar 
shingles the following is a safe estimate:—1 gallon of 
stain covers about 100 square feet, one coat, when the 
stain is applied with a brush. 

214 to 3 gallons of stain covers 1000 shingles when 
they are dipped about eight inches into the stain. 


ESTIMATING MATERIALS REQUIRED 293 


344 gallons of stain is enough for dipping and apply- 
ing 1 brush coat to 1000 shingles. 

Measuring Structural Iron Surfaces.——Probably the 
greater part of the estimating done on structural steel 
and bridge work is pure guess work after looking over 
the structure. The time required, the labor eost to do 
such jobs, necessarily remains largely a matter of 
making an intelligent guess, but to measure the sur- 
face area to be painted and to calculate the amount of 


T-Beam 


Plate 125.—The I-Beam Structural Steel Shape 


material required can be done with reasonable accuracy. 

The various steel manufacturers making structural 
steel shapes print and place in the hands of architects, 
engineers and building contractors data books called 
““shapes’’ books. They contain illustrations and tables 


CHANNEL 


Plate 126.—Commonly Called a Channel Iron Made in Several 
Sizes 


showing sizes, weights and all dimensions of the many 
standard structural steel shapes used in the construction 
of buildings, bridges, gas tanks, ete. 


294 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


ANGLE 


Plate 127.—Called Angle Iron. This Shape is Made in a Great 
Many Standard Sizes 


z- Bar 


Plate 128.—The Z-Bar Used to Some Extent. The Surface Area 
Figures about the Same as the Channel Irons 

From these books you can quickly learn the surface 
area per lineal foot of a 10-inch I-beam, for example. 
Then by simply measuring the total number of lineal 
feet, of 10-inch I-beam to be painted you can quickly 
figure the area of the surface. Plate 125 pictures the 
I-beam shape, Plate 126 is the channel shape, Plate 127 
is the angle and Plate 128 is called a Z-bar. 

The shapes books can be purchased from any of the 
large steel manufacturers, or borrow a book from a 
friendly architect or engineer long enough to make a 
typewritten copy of these tables of areas and weights. 

On new work the architect or engineer can give the 
painter the total weight of structural iron used, sepa- 
rated into each of the different shapes. Then if the 
painter will consult the tables of weights in the shapes 
book he can readily learn the number of pounds per 
foot for each shape. 


ESTIMATING MATERIALS REQUIRED 295 





Plate 129.—Average Steel Bridge for Estimating 


So, by dividing the total number of pounds of steel 
of each shape by the number of pounds per foot, he 
learns the number of lineal feet of steel on the job for 
each structural shape. 

Now, with the number of lineal feet known and 
finding the area per foot from the table, the total area 
in square feet of surface to be painted can be quickly 
computed. 









rasan areas oe 
4 
' 
4 
4 
‘ 
iE 
Nl 
; 
’ 
‘ 
; 
+ 


Cross Section 
of Channel 





Plate 130.—Simple Forms of Bridge Units 


Note the bridge in Plate 129. While every bridge 
and other iron structure is a problem in itself, this is 
rather an average type of bridge. If you will study it 


296 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


a few minutes it will be evident that the structure is 
made up of a number of units which are repeated many 
times. So, if you will find the measure of one unit the 
total area of the steel in the whole bridge ean be figured 
rapidly and accurately. 

By reducing the bridge units to the simple forms 
indicated on Plate 130 the calculation is easy. The unit 
marked ‘‘A’’ represents the principal beams. It is not 
difficult to measure these. For illustration assume that 
the two end beams are each 30 feet long, while the top 
span is 100 feet. Then we have 160 lineal feet of beams. 
The other side of the bridge repeats this unit, so we 
have double the measure or 320 lineal feet of beams of 
this size. 

If these beams are 12 inches on one side and 10 inches 
on the other the total measure around them will be 
approximately the sum of 12 and 10 and 12 and 10, plus 
at least two inches on each of the corners for the flanges 
through which the rivets pass. So we measure around 
the beam with a rule or steel tape, as indicated by ‘‘B,’’ 
Plate 130, and find a total of 52 inches. 52 inches equals 
4-1/3 feet. To figure the area of the beams is simple 
enough now. Consider them the same as a flat surface 
which is 4-1/3 feet wide and 320 feet long. Multiply 
320x4-1/3 and the product is 1386-2/3 square feet of 
surface to be painted. 

Note unit ‘‘C’’ in Plate 180. What area is left in 
the bridge is largely composed of these triangles. There 
are 6 on each side, or 12 triangles in all. These triangles 
are made up of channel iron riveted together with cross 
ties to form a lattice work on two sides of each beam. 
These lattice strips will require fully as much paint, 
and more time, to cover them than if the four sides of 
these beams were solid surface. For purposes of 
figuring the material consider these to be solid beams, 
which are 6 inches on one side and 12 inches on the 
other. 


ESTIMATING MATERIALS REQUIRED 297 


The measure around these beams in the triangle, 
' then, will probably be 6 plus 12, plus 6 plus 12, which 
equals 36 inches. To this should be added the width of 
the flanges on all four corners at 2 inches each. So we 
have 36 inches plus 8 inches, making 44 inches around 
each beam. 44 inches is 3-2/3 feet. Now assume that 
one leg of this triangle is 28 feet high and the other is 
30 feet high and we have a total of 58 lineal feet for 
each triangle. There are 12 triangles in the bridge, 
so we multiply 58 by 12 and find that there are in this 
whole structure 696 lineal feet of beam of this size. 
Each beam is 3-2/3 feet around, so we simply mul- 
tiply 696x3-2/3 and find that the area of all these 
beams together is 2552 square feet. 

Note unit “‘D’’ on Plate 130. On each end of the 
bridge, angle irons have been used to tie the main 
beam structures together. Assuming that the width of 
this bridge is 30 feet this truss of angle iron would 
figure up about this way :— 


1 top angle 4x4 inches by 30 feet long, 

which is equivalent to a flat surface 8 

inches wide, or 2/3 feet wide by 30 feet 

Pearse san area of.............. AOU SHA rte 
1 bottom angle iron same size as top.... 20 sq. ft. 
3 angle irons 18 feet long and 2 angle 

irons 9 feet long on each side of this 

truss, making a total of 6 angles 18 feet 

long and 4 angles 9 feet long, or 144 

hneal feet in all. This angle iron is 

probably 2x2 inches. <A surface which 

is equal to 4 inches wide by 144 feet 

long, or 1/3 foot x 144 feet which equals 

48 square feet. There is such a truss at 

each end of the bridge, so we have 


136 sq. ft. 


298 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


The fence or safety rail on each side of 
the bridge is made of steel straps and is 
probably about 3 feet high and about 
125 feet long on each side. The paint 
used on such a surface is fully equal to 
that used on a plain solid surface of the 
Same dimensions, so figure it as a solid, 
or a surface 3 feet x 250 feet, which 


Cquals so... sedis oles ote stetanenaenea 750 sq. 
On the top of the bridge are a few angle 
iron trusses which can readily be com- 
puted by the same methods as have just 
been discussed. The total surface to be 
painted, then, with that exception and 
excepting also any steel which might be 
in use under the roadbed, would be set 
down as:— 
Main ‘beams Unit ‘{A’’) 79.5) oe 1386-2/3 sq. 
12 Triangle beams’ Unit ~C° 7?) =e aa 2552 sq. 
2 End Trusses, Unit “D7 (sere 136 Sq. 
2 Fences or Safety Rails’. .4. eet 750 sq. 
Potala 4324 Sq. 


Tt: 


CHAPTER XIV 
A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 


WHETHER the building to be painted is new or old 
the very first step in the procedure is to make an in- 
spection of the building in general and the surface in 
particular. 

If a new building study the lumber and decide 
whether it is soft and porous, having considerable 
ability to absorb paint, or a rather hard, compact sap- 
filled wood which will absorb little paint. Note whether 
most of the lumber is of the same kind, or whether 
some is soft and porous while other areas are hard 
and sap filled. 

Is the lumber dry enough to paint? That point is 
very important. Is it covered with frost or dew in 
‘the morning and how long must you wait before the 
sun dries the surface frost or dew, making the wood 
safe to paint? 

How about dirt, plaster or tar splashed on to the 
wood by other mechanics? 

If the job is an old one, note the exact condition of 
the old paint. Is it firmly attached to the wood gen- 
erally? If any scales of paint are to be seen, is it 
simply a local condition with patches of scales here and 
there, or is the scaling general? Is the paint which 
has not sealed firmly attached to the surface, or is all 
of the paint rather insecurely attached, making it neces- 
sary to remove all of the old paint to give the new paint 
a fair opportunity to attach itself to the wood? 


If there are round blisters of paint here and there 
299 


300 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


of various sizes, were these blisters caused by the sun 
drawing excess sap from the wood? If they were evi- 
dently caused by moisture in the wood from other 
sources,—that is, if the wood is not excessively sappy 
in nature, then where did the moisture come from? 
Was it simply caused by painting over the wood when 
it was wet from rain or frost? Was the wood poorly 
seasoned before being painted the first time? Did the 
moisture get into the wood from leaking roof gutters, 
shingles or tin flashing over windows? Did it get in 
from leaking plumbing pipes? Regardless of where the 
moisture came from, is the wood dry now and has the 
source of the moisture been shut off? 

Mixing and Tinting the Paint.—If the wood is new 
and of the pitch pine or cypress varieties, read the 
description of special treatment for these woods with 
benzole in the paint as given in Chapter XII. In 
Chapters VI. and VIII. will be found standard formulas 
for mixing the paint and other information concerning 
mixing. The tinting of the paint, the colors needed 
and the oil and thinners required are all described in 
Chapters VI., VII., VIII. and IX. 

Scaffold Needed.—In Chapter IV. descriptions of all 
ladders and scaffold equipment in common use will be 
found for various types of buildings from the small 
cottage to the large public buildings. 

Assuming that we are about to paint an average 
residence, such as is shown in Plate 131, the surface 
ean be reached. by the use of long ladders and exten- 
sion ladders alone, but remember that a man can work 
more comfortably from plank platforms and that more 
and better painting will as a rule be done when work- 
ing from the ground and from planks. It is wise to 
scaffold a job with enough equipment to encourage good 
work. So extension ladders from which brackets,— 
Plate 68, Chapter IV, are suspended to support planks, 
or some of the patented plank supports, are much better 


301 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 


= 


















Refit cll 





ce 








Plate 131.—An Average House to Be Painted 


202 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


than to require a man to stand on the rung of a ladder 
for hours at a time. Then, too, a man will waste quite 
a little time moving ladders every few minutes to enable 
him to reach the surface. 

On buildings of this type it will not pay to use swing 
stages. Extension ladders with planks for the upper 
surfaces and a couple of trestles with a plank for the 
lower wall surfaces will speed the work. Note the 
trestles and planks in Plate 57, Chapter IV. 

Tools Needed.—In addition to the scaffold equip- 
ment needed for such a job, use will be found for the 
following tools :— 


Drop Cloths to cover cement sidewalks, shrubs, 
ete. 

1 Flat wall brush for each man, 4 inch or 41% 
inch size. 

1 or 2 flat or round sash tools for sash trim- 
ming and mouldings for each man. 

1 Duster brush for each man. 

1 Putty knife or broad scraper for each man. 

6 Sheets of No. 1 or No. 2 sandpaper for each 
man, 

‘Wiping rags to remove paint from window 
glass, ete. 

I One gallon paint pail or an empty 50-Ib. 
white lead pail for each man. 

1 Wood mixing paddle for each man. 

1 Large mixing paddle. 

1 Mixing tub, half of a barrel is good. 

Paint strainers 

1 Paint burner, gasoline or acetylene gas. 


Preparing the Surface.—I{ old paint must be re- 
moved because it is scaling generally, note what has 
been written in Chapter XII about surfaces and the 
preparation necessary. Also note in this chapter the 
directions about the method to follow in removing scal- 
ing paint. 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 308 


New surfaces and old which are in good condition 
for painting require only a thorough dusting off to 
- remove any loose particles of dirt on the surface. A 
few places here and there need scraping with the broad 
scraping knife and sandpapering to remove roughness 
or dirt or plaster, ete. Otherwise simply scrape off 
any loose paint scales and blisters, sand down the edges 
and dust off the whole surface with the duster brush. 

Any new or old surface which is spotted with oil 
or grease from the hands of steamfitters or other me- 
chanics should be washed with benzine, or the paint 
will not stick to such places. 

Scorch and Shellac Knots—Some of the lumber 
being used now shows quite a number of knots which 
are pretty well filled with pitch. The sun will draw 
this pitch out and cause yellow spots over each knot. 
Shellac is only fairly successful in holding back this 
pitch. The best treatment is to draw out some of the 
pitch by heating the knots with the flame from a paint 
burner torch, being very careful not to hold the torch 
on the knots long enough to make them take fire and 
burn. When the pitch has been drawn out and is 
cool serape it off smooth. Now coat each knot with two 
thin coats of orange shellac. And some very careful 
painters will daub a brushful of paint over each before 
painting the whole surface. 

The Priming Coat.—On first thought it would seem 
that most any kind and color of paint that is cheap is 
good enough for priming a new house. That is the 
thought that led to the use of yellow ochre thirty 
years ago. ‘To-day ochre has no favor with master 
painters. They know its inclination to gather moisture 
and to let go its hold on the wood causing the paint to 
scale. 

Experience with priming coats everywhere is diamet- 
rically opposite to first impressions. The priming is 
the most important of all coats because it is the founda- 


304 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


tion. It is the coat where you can least afford to 
use any but the best materials, as it bears the same 
relation to the completed painting job that a building | 
foundation bears to the structure. When the founda- 
tion lets go the best of paint scales off. Nowhere is the 
need for the best of paint greater than for priming. 

It is quite generally agreed that all coats of paint on 
a job should be of the same materials, but there are 
some exceptions. For example on jobs which are to 
be painted with dark colors, green, red, brown, ete., it is 
better to put on a priming coat of good paint tinted 
gray or a light shade of the finished color. Two or 
three coats of some dark colors not only do not cover 
as well when spread over each other as when spread 
over a more Opaque priming coat, but the cost of some 
dark colors, like chrome green and chrome yellow, runs 
the cost up on a job unnecessarily. For colonial yellow 
jobs it is best to make your under coats cream color 
or ivory, using the chrome yellow mixed with a little 
white for the finishing coat only. 

The habit of using any old cheap paint, or odds 
and ends about the shop for priming coats is indeed bad. 

Brushing the Paint.—Old-time painters lay much 
stress upon the importance of brushing the paint in 
and out well. This is important on the priming coat 
where it is well to gain as much penetration of the 
wood as possible to assure firm anchorage of the paint. 
Do not attempt to carry too much of a load of paint 
on the brush. Each brush has its capacity and when 
overloaded is sure to spatter the paint about the 
premises and make a mussy job, to say nothing about 
soiling drop cloths, ladders, equipment, cement side- 
walks, window glass, ete. Take a moderate brushful, 
spread it on the surface roughly, lay it off or spread 
it out to cover a few square feet of surface and let it 
alone. Brush with a semi-circular stroke from right 
to left and back again. Dip the brush into the paint 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 305 


only an inch or two and wipe out an excess load on the 
side of the pot. 

The old-time painter, who is supposed to know all 
about it, says to put your priming coat of paint on thick 
and rub it out thin. However that may be, it is true 
that thin, even coats of priming penetrate the pores of 
the wood and anchor better and dry better. They show 
the grain of the wood and do not look as well as a thick 
coat, but on the priming coat the important point is to 
make a good foundation for the future coats which can 
be made thick enough to cover well. Thick priming 
coats hide the grain of the wood but dry slowly and are 
apt to scale off later on. A little lampblack or other 
dark color in priming coats for any colored finishing 
coats make the priming coat obscure the surface better 
so that it will not be so difficult to hide the dark sap 
streaks of the wood with the second coat. When the 
finishing coats are to be white a little blue is sometimes 
used in both the priming coat and the second coat. 
Then the finishing coat looks whiter because the surface 
of the wood is obscured better. 

Putty-Up Cracks and Holes.—After the priming coat , 
has been brushed into the holes and cracks the putty 
will stick to the surface. If the putty is put on to bare 
wood the wood absorbs the oil from the putty and the 
filling crumbles away or drops out. 

It is important to fill all holes and cracks with putty 
not only to keep out wind and cold but, more important, 
to keep out water which, when it freezes, expands the 
holes, allowing more water to get in and by a gradual 
process allows the wood to get wet and promotes decay, 
swelling and warping of the wood. 

In Chapter VI will be found the mixing methods 
for making putty. 

The putty is forced into the cracks and holes with a 
putty knife and it should be allowed to dry before paint- 
ing over it. An excess of putty 1s needed because some 


306 ' HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


shrinkage is to be expected. A stroke with a piece of 
sandpaper will cut off any roughness or bulging of putty 
after it is dry. | 

Second and Third Coats.—Mix these coats as per 
directions in Chapter VI and VIII. The brushing 
is done in a similar manner but the paint should be 
put on a bit thicker and more attention should be paid 
to making each coat cover and hide the surface as well 
as possible. Joints and laps must be avoided and it 
is especially necessary to avoid skipping some places 
and putting paint on thick in some places and thin in 
others. Try to brush the paint on with an even thick- 
ness over the whole surface. Then it not only will look 
better but it will wear better. 

How Many Coats of Paint?—Many a job of re- 
painting is done with only two coats and even some 
new surfaces are so finished, but using a minimum of 
paint in this manner no doubt is expensive in the end. 
A new wood surface needs at least three coats of paint 
mixed fairly thin and well brushed or sprayed on 
to cover well. Four coats on new wood makes a better 
investment because they preserve the wood better and 
afford a better foundation for future painting. 

Old surfaces which have been well painted before 
may be pretty well painted as a rule with two new. 
coats, but here again three coats are better as an invest- 
ment. When too few coats of paint are put on any 
surface the oil soaks into the dry wood, or dry old 
paint, leaving the new paint on the surface without 
enough oil to bind the pigment together and to the 
surface. 

Where to Begin Painting—The high places are 
usually painted first. If the lower part of the build- 
ing were painted first it would be marred by the 
ladders when reaching the upper areas and also paint 
from above would be splashed on the finished paint 
below. So the work is to be started on the cornice, up 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 307 


under the roof, gables, ete. Then work your stretches of . 
paint from left to right and back again as far as you 
can reach, working from the top down, and resetting 
the ladders no more than is necessary to comfortably 
reach all surface. 

The trim of the building usually is painted the same 
color as the body for the first two coats. The finishing 
coat of a different color than the body is usually dark 
enough to cover well and hide the surface in one coat. 
This is not always true, it depends upon the color. 
Time is saved by painting the trim the same as the 
body for the under coats when possible. 

When the finishing coat is put on the painter usually 
takes two pots of paint and two sets of brushes up 
on the scaffold with him. Then he paints both body 
and trim colors with each setting of the scaffold. 
Otherwise he would have to wait until one color dried 
before putting on the other. 

The sash are usually painted when most convenient 
without making a special setting of the ladders for that, 
but it all depends upon how many men are available. 

Rain Gutters and Down Spouts.——These and other 
metal surfaces should be painted after the methods de- 
scribed in Chapter X. Usually one man on the job is 
detailed to look after the odds and ends like these 
surfaces and the trimming of sash, porches, doors, ete. 

About Painting Weather—Condition of the surface, 
quality of the paint, correct application of the paint and 
favorable painting weather are the essentials which 
govern the success of painting. 

Generally speaking painting may be successfully 
done any month in the year when the wood is dry, when 
the temperature is above zero and when it is reasonably 
comfortable to work without so much clothing on as 
to impede reasonable safety and speed at work. In 
many localities the winters are mild enough to allow 
painting twelve months in the year. In fact, in all 


308 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


except the extreme northern localities a great deal 
more painting should be done during the winter months. 

After the rainy seasons have passed the lumber of 
most buildings becomes quite as dry as during the 
summer months. The heating plants inside drive mois- 
ture out of the walls. So whenever the temperature is 
40 degrees or above there is an opportunity to paint. 
Of course, paint should not be applied when the sur- 
face is subject to moisture condensation because it is 
snowing, sleeting or raining. Snow coming in contact 
with the warm sides of a building condenses and leaves 
moisture in the wood even though it cannot be seen. 
Frosts and fogs are equally unfavorable for painting. 
When paint is put on over wet surfaces the moisture 
may remain there until the warm season when the 
sun draws it out into blisters. The blisters break and 
the paint then scales off. Frosts settling on new paint 
kill the gloss and cause washing of the paint pigment 
later. 

Cold, dry weather is just as good for painting as 
higher temperatures and certainly better than hot 
sunny days. It will be necessary to start painting later 
in the mornings and to quit an hour or so earlier in 
the evenings, but the short days are better than no work 
and the painting can be done just as well if the painter 
thinks about what he is doing. 

New buildings should be given the priming coat as 
soon as the plaster is dry. Otherwise the joints and 
seams may open up and the cracks and nail holes will 
be excessively large. When the wood is pitch pine or 
cypress it is well to allow the wood to stand in the 
weather, sometimes for two or three months, then the 
sap or oil on the surface is taken off and it is easier 
to make paint stick to such lumber. But this should 
not be done with pitch pine during the hottest sunny 
season ; the sun will warp the wood out of shape. 

Removing Cracked and Scaling Paint.—When the 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 309 


old paint on a house is cracking and scaling to an 
extent that indicates that all of the old paint is inse- 
curely attached to the wood, it becomes necessary to 
remove all of the paint down to the bare wood so the 
new paint will have an opportunity to attach itself to 
a firm foundation, to penetrate and anchor in the pores 
of the wood. 

How to remove old paint in this condition is the 
problem. Of course, the common practice is to simply 
serape off the loose scales, sandpaper down the rough 
edges and repaint over what is left of the old material. 
That is all right when the old paint which remains is 
firmly,attached, but when it is not so, the new paint 
is bound to scale off too, sooner or later, especially after 
several thicknesses of paint have been put on. 

Such old paint can be and often is removed largely 
by the use of steel scrapers and sandpaper. Liquid 
paint removers can be used but are rather too costly 
to use on large areas. The caustic soda removers must 
not be used because some of the soda is likely to remain 
in the wood and destroy the new paint as well as the 
old. So the use of the paint burner is the most prac- 
tical means. The gasoline paint burner torch and the 
acetylene gas burner torch are shown in Chapter V, 
Plates 90 and 91. 

The procedure in doing a job of burning and scrap- 
ing is to select a day when there is little wind, because 
it is difficult to get enough heat on the paint to blister 
it where there is a high wind. The burner doesn’t 
actually burn the paint off,—it simply blisters the 
paint film, loosens it and a knife scraper must be used to 
remove the paint while it is hot. 

Hold the torch and broad scraping knife as indicated 
in Plate 132. The torch is held in the left hand at an 
angle on the paint which will permit the scraper knife 
in the right Land to follow close back of the flame of 
the torch. The torch flame should be moved along 


310 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


slowly as fast as the paint blisters up, taking care not 
to burn the wood. The painter should wear gloves 
at this work to avoid singeing his skin. The flame 
of the torch should always be pointed downward a 
little so the flame will not crawl up under the weather- 
boards at the joints and ignite the building paper under 
the boards. Sometimes wood shavings are found under 
boards and in corners of casings, corniees, ete. Keep 
your eye open for such danger points. The end of the 





Plate 132.—Method of Using the Paint Burner Torch 


paint burner generator tube should be held about two 
inches from the wall while at work. When not in use 
see that the flame of the burner is turned outward 
so it will not reach anything which can be burned. 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 311 


Experts in the use of this tool can strip off some 
kinds of paint by a continuous motion. Do not dig 
the paint off an inch at a time. When the tool is 
properly used the scraper knife will slip along after 
the torch while the paint film is hot. Let the torch 
do the work, the knife should slip along steadily, if 
slowly. 

When paint is too dry and hard to strip off easily 
by the torch burning method, it is customary to coat 
the paint with a mixture of about one fourth turpen- 
tine and three fourths linseed oil. Let the paint dry 
for a day or two and then begin the burhing. Benzole 
(160 degrees solvent naphtha) is much better than the 
turpentine with the oil for this purpose. About half 
benzole and half oil are effective. Begin to burn and 
scrape as soon as the paint softens and works best. 

Touch-Up Bare Spots——When paint has been scraped 
or burned off of a wall in places here and there, but 
not from the entire wall, a good painter will always 
touch up these bare spots with a coat of paint before 
proceeding to apply the first coat of paint to the whole 
wall. It is only by building up these places that a 
first class job can be secured by having a uniformly 
thick film of paint over the whole surface. 

Paint for Exterior Doors.—Something more than a 
plain painting job is usually wanted on outside doors 
of residences and many business buildings. 

A coat of varnish on top of oil paint is sometimes 
resorted to. Then when the hot sun beats down on 
such doors the paint blisters or it alligators or checks. 
Full oil coats under varnish should be avoided every- 
where. To avoid that defect proper foundation coats 
are necessary,—coats which contain no more oil than 
is necessary to bind the pigment together and to the 
surface. 

The outside of a door on a residence may, of course, 
be painted any color to harmonize with the general 


312 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


color scheme. Dark green, white, ivory white and black 
are quite commonly used. 


First Coat 


Considering a new door,—the surface should first 
be sandpapered down to remove any rough places, then 
clean off the dust and brush on your first coat of paint. 
This coat is very important and usually is mixed 
from white lead thinned with half turpentine and half 
boiled linseed oil tinted to suit with colors ground in 
oil. If the finished color is to be dark, this first coat 
may be mixed a dark gray or a shade of the final 
color. If the finished job is to be white or any light 
color make the first coat white. It should dry nearly 
flat. 

Now fill all scratches and holes with putty ated 
from white lead in oil paste, dry whiting and a few 
drops of any good varnish. When dry, rub over the 
surface lightly with No. 00 sandpaper, dust off clean 
and you are ready for the second coat. . 


Second Coat—Light Color 


If the color is to be white, cream or any light tint 
this coat may be mixed from 84 white lead and 4 
zine oxide thinned with turpentine only or with flat- 
ning oil and tinted the same as the finishing color 
wanted. Or this second coat may be one of the pre- 
pared enamel undercoats tinted to suit with colors 
in japan to the final color. 


Second Coat—Dark Color 


If the color wanted is dark the second coat may be 
mixed as above from lead and zine and tinted dark 
gray or near to the finished color wanted. When thor- 
oughly dry rub this coat down hghtly with No. 00 
sandpaper—rub just hard enough to remove dust and 
dirt nibs. Keep away from the sharp edges and corners 
with the sandpaper—one stroke on such places may cut 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 313 


through the paint to the bare wood. After sanding 
the surface, dust it off, being sure to remove all dirt 
from the corners. 


Third Coat—Light Colors 


One of the most convenient and satisfactory ways to 
finish up the job is by brushing on next one or two 
coats of first class factory made enamel—in white or 
one of the several colors now sold in this material. All 
enamels are not suitable for exterior exposure to the 
weather. There are some brands, however, which are 
made with linseed oil as the thinner and they give 
very good service for this kind of decorating. 

If white enamel is at hand for this job you can 
tint it with tinting colors ground in japan. Mix the 
color with enough turpentine to make it flow freely 
and strain it before adding any to the enamel ;—then 
mix the paint thoroughly. 

This third and last coat may also be mixed from first 
class spar varnish to which about one pound of japan 
color or the colored paint is added per gallon of varnish. 


Third Coat—Dark Colors 


The second coat may be omitted if necessary to cut 
down the cost on dark colored jobs, not however without 
sacrificing some of the fine appearance of the job. 

This coat should be mixed from color ground in 
japan and thinned with turpentine only. Apply the 
color with a soft, badger color brush. Many colors are 
available to select from and you can mix any tint or 
shade wanted by the addition of black or white to any 
japan color or by mixing varying proportions of these 
eolors together. 

When the japan color is really dry rub over it very 
lightly with a handful of horse hair or a dry piece 
of soft cheese cloth to remove dust and dirt nibs. 


314 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Fourth Coat—Dark Colors 


This coat may be clear spar varnish, if good hiding 
ability has been shown by previous coats. If not, add 
a little of the japan color to the varnish—about one 
pound of color to the gallon of varnish. This color 
varnish will then prove both a protective and decorative 
coat. 

Enamel for EHzterior Surfaces——There are on the 
market several high grade enamels, factory made, 
which give good service on exterior surfaces such as 
porch columns, lattice, pergolas, benches, garden furni- 
ture, ete. Such enamels are only those made with lin- 
seed oil as a principal ingredient. These enamels are 
white but can be tinted with colors ground in japan 
and thinned a little with turpentine. Strain the color 
mixed with the turpentine before adding it to the 
enamel, 

A painter-mixed exterior enamel calls for the use of 
half white lead and half zine oxide mixed with the 
best exterior spar varnish. Mix the lead and zine to- 
gether with enough turpentine to make a thick paste, 
add the varnish and strain the whole batch through 
cheese cloth after a thorough job of mixing. Such 
enamel will be serviceable but not as white as factory 
made enamels. The spar varnish has an amber color 
which darkens the enamel a little. It bleaches out 
whiter as time goes on, however. ; 

Surfaces to be finished with enamel should be built 
up with at least two under coats of flat paint. On new 
wood the first coat should be mixed with about half 
boiled linseed oil and half turpentine. The second 
eoat should dry flat, which means that at least three- 
fourths turpentine to one-fourth oil is needed. On 
some hard, well filled surfaces no oil is needed in the 
second coat. 

One point should be kept in mind about paint coats 


A JOB OF PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH 315 


used under varnish or enamel coats—keep the oil in 
the under coats down to the least amount that will 
bind these coats together and anchor them to the sur- 
face. Too much oil in the under coats causes the sur- 
face to take on a checked or an alligatored appearance 
later. The reason for that is that the under coats full 
of oil are more elastic than the varnish or enamel on 
top. When the sun beats down on the surface the 
under coats expand more than the varnish or enamel 
coats; hence, the latter breaks up into odd shaped 
patches which look very much like alligator skin 
leather. 


CHAPTER XV 
PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 


In previous chapters in this book the mixing of 
paints, the tools needed for general work and the scaf- 
fold required were described at length and in Chapter 
XIV the procedure, preparation of surfaces, ete., were 
discussed. All of this subject matter refers also to 
spray painting and, in fact, the best spray painter is 
the man who knows materials, surfaces and brush paint- 
ing methods. In taking on spray painting a painter, 
therefore, has nothing to change, can make excellent 
use of his previous training and is simply required to 
learn the correct handling and care of the spray gun 
and supply units for air and materials. 

Probably the first important idea to fix firmly in 
mind about this method of painting is that of gaining 
a thorough knowledge of the spray gun equipment and 
the handling of the gun itself. There is nothing very 
difficult about handling this tool, but like all other 
tools, best results come only from correct use. And 
while all spray guns are somewhat similar in a general 
way and some are better than others, the wise course 
to pursue is to take all the instruction you can get 
from the manufacturers of the particular equipment 
you are going to use. If any one knows how to get 
the most satisfaction out of such equipment it is the 
men who designed and constructed it. The manufac- 
turers of the best spray. gun equipment today are 
anxious to teach their painter customers what they 

316 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 317 


should know about handling spray guns. They not 
only supply definite printed instructions for the opera- 
tion and care of the equipment, but also provide expert 
instructors who teach the correct use of the equipment 
right out on the job under actual working conditions. 
Such service is priced at just what it costs and it 1s 
worth much more. It is of the utmost importance to 
get started right in this method of paint application. 
The best machines are remarkably fine tools, well de- 
signed by able engineers and constructed with great 
skill and precision. When correctly used they will 
do all that is claimed for them and more. 

Size and Kind of Equipment.—Most manufacturers 
make spray painting outfits of several sizes which 
are suitable for various kinds of work. For interior 
decorating on walls, trim, floors, furniture and fixtures, 
automobiles, and other articles which can be brought 
to the shop for finishing, a small portable and useful 
outfit is made. The motor is small, about one-quarter 
horsepower in some instances, and can be attached to 
any electric light socket. The large outfits have large 
motors which must be connected with power lines, or 
otherwise gasoline engines are used to run the com- 
pressors. 

The small interior decorating equipments as made by 
some manufacturers use a siphon feed gun with the 
material tank holding one pint or one quart attached 
to the gun. Such material containers can be quickly 
changed for others with different materials or colors. 
Where small surfaces requiring small amounts of ma- 
terials are to be decorated and where changes of ma- 
terial are frequent, this type is better than the equip- 
ment using large paint storage tanks which take longer 
to clean. Also the siphon feed gun is good for spraying 
lacquers and will atomize material into very fine spray. 
It will not draw up to the nozzle more material than 
it can atomize very fine. 


318 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Some of the small interior decorating outfits use the 
same spray gun types as are used for large exterior 
surfaces. With them a smaller paint storage tank is 
used, various sizes being available but separate from 
the gun. Some of these outfits do not have air storage 
tanks. They are composed of motor, compressor, paint 
tank and spray gun with the necessary hose. The out- 
fit is small and light enough for one man to carry when 
necessary, although the outfit is mounted on wheels,—a 
small truck which can be freely moved about. 

These small outfits spray paint, enamel, varnish, 
stains, sizes and are very handy for all interior sur- 
faces which they coat more rapidly than can be done 
with ordinary methods. 

For the painting of large surfaces with oil paints, 
mill whites, and other paints for decoration, preserva- 
tion of surfaces, better light and sanitation, spray gun 
outfits with larger motors or gasoline engine power, 
larger compressors, air and paint storage tanks and with 
the capacity for supplying with air and material one, 
two and three spray guns working at the same time, are 
in common use now in many localities. 

These larger outfits are especially advantageous for 
coating rough surfaces like brick, concrete, stucco, 
shingles, rough lumber and in fact any large areas of 
metal and wood surfaces. The work commonly finished 
with these larger spray painting outfits includes resi- 
dence exteriors, basements and fruit cellars, barns, 
dairy buildings, creameries, factory exteriors and in- 
teriors of brick, cement, wood and steel, state fair 
ground buildings, large steel water and material storage 
tanks, gas holder tanks of public service companies, 
bridges and other structural steel buildings, lates fences 
of wire and wood construction. 

When it comes to selecting equipment it is best to 
take the advice of the manufacturers after stating 
clearly the character and amount of work you want to 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 319 


do by spray painting methods. Their great experience 
and knowledge of technical ability and limitations of 
various types of outfits will aid you in making the 
right start. 

Equipment for the painting contractor for exterior 
work consists usually of the air compressing unit, which 
includes compressor, power which is usually gasoline 
engine, but sometimes electric motor, air storage tank 
and necessary connections to make these three units work 
together. They are mounted on skids to be conveniently 
moved from job to job, or on a truck with wheels on 
it. The best plan is to buy these units mounted on 
skids and then place the whole outfit permanently in 
an auto truck which can be run up to the curb in front 
of a house to be painted or in the driveway. Enough 
air hose to lead from the truck to the highest point on 
the building to be painted is commonly used, two or 
three hundred feet in some cases. Then the balance of 
the outfit, the paint storage tank and the spray guns 
are handled up on the scaffold platform or roof where 
the painting is being done. To move such an outfit 1s 
simple indeed and several jobs can be served by the 
same equipment without loss of time at loading and 
unloading. A trailer is sometimes employed instead 
of a truck for mounting this outfit. 

The spray gun can be worked at any height in the 
air. The best operation comes when the paint storage 
tank is kept not more than fifty feet below the gun at 
work, so twenty-five or fifty feet of air hose is needed 
from the paint tank to the gun and the same amount 
of material supply hose. 

Management to Save Time.—Since the opportunity to 
speed the work and handle a large volume of painting 
is great, the opportunity to lose time, which means 
labor cost, is also great. It is important of course to 
so handle men, materials and equipment on any job of 
painting as to avoid lost time, but it is especially im- 


320 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


portant to have efficient management where the work is 
being done by spray painting equipment, since the spray 
painters coat in the surface faster. Spray painting 
should be studied with a view to economy of movement 
of men, materials and equipment and the elimination 
of lost time as far as possible. The difference in time 
required to paint similar jobs by different contractors 
is often great enough to make the difference between 
profit of a very satisfactory nature and ordinary profit. 
That difference may be only an hour or two for the less 
efficiently managed job, but it may be half a day or 
more. So efficient, carefully planned operations are 
especially necessary when the greatest good is to come 
from painting by the use of the spray gun. The time 
to plan every move on the job is a day or two before 
the work begins. Then the right men, materials and 
equipment will be there at the right time and the job 
should progress rapidly without undue rushing of men. 
Orderly progress is far better than chaos for the boss, 
the men and the customer. 

What makes for profit and satisfaction for all con- 
cerned in this kind of work is the correct use of the 
proper spray painting equipment, timely placing and 
handling of the equipment on the job, the use of enough 
first class scaffold equipment, forethought in planning 
operations, a large enough crew of men who are familiar 
with the work and the use of correct paint mixtures. 

The paint ought to be mixed and strained ready for 
use in the shop. It should be tinted and the color 
given an O.K. before it goes on to the job. 

Scaffold Equipment Needed.—While it is true that 
when there is an advantage in so doing about thirty per 
cent of the usual scaffolding used can be saved, and 
even fifty per cent when extension brush handles are 
used, there is often no economy in having too little 
scaffold on the job. 

The best type of scaffold is that which enables the 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 321 


operator of a spray gun to cover the most surface with- 
out resetting of ladders, etc. The spray gun covers the 
surface so rapidly that frequent moves of scaffold 
waste much valuable time. Scaffolds of the platform 
type are essential for the best results. The minimum 
on the average job should be three long ladders or ex- 
tension ladders, four planks and six bracket hangers 
to support the planks. 

Often it is better to scaffold two sides of a building 
complete so that when one side has been painted the 
- eun operators can shift immediately to the other side. 
Then the scaffold from the first side can be shifted to 
the third side by other men and so on without loss of a 
moment’s time. 

When a contractor can so organize his business as to 
keep a large volume of work ahead on the waiting list, 
it is wise to have one crew of men for doing the moving 
and setting up of scaffold. Then the spray gun oper- 
ators simply coat the surface and move on to the next 
job where the scaffold is ready. Then by relaying the 
first scaffold set to the third job the maximum surface 
is painted per day. Of course this means quite an in- 
vestment in scaffold equipment, but it enables a crew of 
men to do two or three times as much painting and that 
means two or three times as much profit during the 
rush painting season, other things being well managed 
and equal. 

When the scaffolding for a job is set in place all of 
the surface including window -sash, blinds, trim, ete., 
should be painted. These surfaces are of course painted 
in the regular way with brushes and the brush 
painters can usually work on the same scaffold with 
the spray gun operators. Enough brush painters should 
be employed to balance up the work and have all done 
at the same time. 

Study Surface Conditions—What has been presented 
in Chapter XIV about preparation of surfaces and 


322 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


special treatment for certain kinds of new wood is fully 
applicable when the paint is put on with a spray gun. 
In addition there are certain other surface conditions 
which must be taken into consideration. The paint on 
some old surfaces is found in a checked or cracked con- 
dition, even though the paint is firmly attached. Now 
to fill these cracks and fine crevices more paint must be 
put in them than is put on the balance of the surface. 
The bristle brush will do that but the spray gun will 
not. The spray gun puts on a paint film of uniform 
thickness over the whole surface,—just as much paint 
in the cracks as on the high places, but no more. 

The most practical way to handle such surfaces is 
to spray the paint on and lay it off, smooth it out, with 
the bristle brush. This takes a little more time than 
to spray only, but it saves considerable time over doing 
all the application with the brush, because it saves the 
time consumed in dipping the brush repeatedly into 
the paint and transferring it to the surface. 

After a first coat is sprayed and brushed on to a 
checked surface the second and third coats may be 
sprayed on in the usual manner. 

A flat finished surface is required for spray paint- 
ing when the best of results are to be gained. The 
priming coat on new wood and the second coat, too, 
should be mixed to dry flat, that is, enough turpentine 
or mineral spirits or benzole should be used in place of 
part of the linseed oil to make the paint film dry with- 
out gloss. Likewise the first and all undercoats on old 
surfaces should be mixed to dry without gloss. 

When the undercoats of paint, enamel or varnish have 
a gloss the new coat may run, sag or wrinkle,—it may 
creep and crawl like water on grease. And when even 
slightly too much paint has been put on to a gloss sur- 
face it may run. It is possible with a spray gun to 
put on as much paint in one application as is put on 
with three or four brush coats. 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 323 


Surfaces having too much gloss may be reduced to 
flat by wiping over with a cloth wet with benzine in 
the case of exterior paints. Enamels and varnished 
surfaces require rubbing down with sandpaper or 
pumice stone and water. 

When ready mixed paints are used for the under- 
coats on exterior painting, pour off the liquid which 
appears on top and replace it with turpentine or mineral 
spirits in part or entirely, depending upon how porous 
the surface is and how much of the oil of the paint 
came to the top. Enough oil must be left in the paint to 
bind it. 

When white lead is mixed fresh for the job the oil 
and turpentine can be correctly proportioned to gain 
a flat finish and still allow enough oil to bind the paint 
as required for the absorbing ability of the particular 
surface at hand. As a rule not more than one-fourth 
turpentine to three-fourths linseed oil is needed. 

Some woods after being planed in the mills and sub- 
jected to the weather a while before painting develop 
a fuzz on the surface, and of course the rough sawn 
weatherboards used quite extensively now are fuzzy on 
the surface too. The spray painting method will not 
lay this fuzz down like a common brush. The spray 
will of course paint the surface completely, but the 
fuzz stands up. Where the standing fuzz is objection- 
able the first coat of paint on new wood should be 
sprayed on and then lay it off, or smooth up with a 
brush. That method will knock the fuzz down and the 
paint will hold it down. The next coat or two can be 
sprayed in the usual manner. 

Weatherbeaten surfaces are not easy to paint by 
any method, because of the wide open condition of the 
wood pores, cracks and holes. Paint for such surfaces 
was discussed in Chapter VI. When paint is sprayed 
on to weather-beaten lumber a coat of uniform thick- 
ness is put on to the whole surface. Just as much paint 


324 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


is put into the openings as upon the surface generally, 
but no more. A bristle brush, on the other hand will 
Wipe more paint into the cracks, open pores and holes 
by repeated strokes. On such surfaces the first coat 
may be sprayed on and painters with brushes should 
follow the spray gun operator immediately to brush 
the paint well into the cracks and pores and to lay it 
off finally. Succeeding coats may be put on with the 
spray gun alone. 

Some concrete surfaces are filled with holes lke 
cheese. They are small, to be sure, but numerous. On 
such surfaces the first coat of paint may be sprayed 
and brushed immediately to lay off the paint and force 
it into the small holes to level and fill them. It isn’t 
the roughness of the concrete which makes this brushing 
desirable, but the desirability of putting more paint 
into holes than on the high places. <A spray gun will 
coat the roughest kind of stucco, brick and shingles 
perfectly without any need for brushing to lay off the 
paint. 

Spread or Pattern of a Spray Gun.—Hunters are 
always interested in having a shot gun which shoots a 
- good pattern. The pattern is the spread of the buck 
shot at various distances from the muzzle of the gun 
after each shot is fired. A good gun will show a pattern 
in which the shot are pretty well and evenly distributed 
within a circle at so many hundred feet. A poor gun 
distributes unevenly, many of the buck shot are on 
one side, top or bottom, leaving few shots on other sides. 

So it is with a spray gun. When a good gun is 
properly adjusted, with both the air pressure on the 
paint tank and the air pressure at the nozzle for 
atomizing the paint correctly balanced, the gun will 
shoot a well distributed pattern, or target as it is some- 
times called. The paint will cover a stretch of surface 
well-and with a film of paint of even thickness for hours 
at a time. 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 325 

Spray guns are constructed to shoot a flat fanlike 
spray and also a round, conelike spray. The flat fan 
spray may be horizontal or vertical. The change from 
one to the other is done instantly, without stopping the 
work of the spray, by simply turning the nozzle of 
the gun half way around. On some makes of spray guns 
the change from a flat fan spray to a round cone spray 
is done in the same manner, by turning the nozzle, while 
on others it is necessary to remove one nozzle and re- 
place it with another to change from flat to round spray. 








i} 
/ 





SSN 
R ~S 


QHY 


> S 





«i Ti 


HORIZONTAL FAN SPRAY CONE SPRAY 





Plate 133.—Fan and Cone Sprays 
The flat fan spray is best for painting large areas of 
flat surface, whereas the round cone spray is best for 
painting structural iron, pipes, poles and similar nar- 
row surfaces. Plate 133 illustrates the flat spray when 
turned to the horizontal position and the same spray 
turned to a vertical position, also the cone spray 


pattern. 


326 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Some spray guns are fitted with a nozzle cap like 
that shown in Plate 134 in a general way, though differ- 


SPREADER AIR PASSAGES 





AtromizeDp PAINT PASSAGE 


Plate 134.—The Nozzle Cap of a Spray Gun. Showing the 
Spreader Air Passages 





Plate 135.—Holding the Gun at the Correct angle 
ent in detail with each gun. The paint and air mixture 
comes out of the center hole and a stream of compressed 
air flows out of the two passages on the sides. These 
air streams hit the atomized paint stream as it comes 
out of the center hole and spreads it into the fiat, 
fan spray. 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 327 


Holding the Gun at a Correct Angle-——The proper 
angle at which the spray gun must be held to assure a 
coating of even thickness and one which hides the sur- 
face uniformly well is pictured in Plate 135. The 
nozzle must be square with the surface being painted. 
Keep the same distance from A to B as from B to C. 
When the gun is held incorrectly a fat edge and a glossy 
surface may result at F’. also the paint may run. The 
distance from Z to F' being less than from EF to D, the 
paint pattern will not spread so far and will be coarser 
at F. So the paint may accumulate at / enough to 
run while the surface at D may not be well covered. 

In Plate 186 another view of the correct and in- 





Plate 136.—Correct and Incorrect Angles for Holding the Spray 
Gun. for Best Results 


correct way of holding the gun is shown. The lower 
figure shows a thin, flat poorly covered area at A while 





328 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


B shows a fat edge where the paint is glossy and may 
have accumulated in sufficient amount to run. 

Plate 137 indicates in another way what happens 
when the gun is held at an improper angle for painting. 
The paint is laid on with a rough surface which looks 
like folds or ripples on the water. 





Plate 137.—Rough Paint in Folds or Ripples Caused by Hold- 
ing the Spray Gun at the Wrong Angle 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 329 


* 


Distance of the Gun from the Surface-—As nearly as 
figures can be cited the gun, it may be said, should be 
held from 6 to 10 inches from the surface being painted. 
When the gun is held near the surface the spray is 
narrow and it lays on a paint film which is sharply 
defined at the edges. As you move the gun away from 
the surface the spray gets wider and the edge of the 
film becomes less sharp and straight. 

A shield or mask is usually held in the left hand 
when spraying paint up close to trim, like window 
casings which are to be painted a different color, but 
an expert spray gun operator cuts a clean sharp edge 
without a shield to cover the trim simply by holding 
the gun near to the surface and moving it fast and 
steadily over the surface being painted. Plate 138 
indicates this point. A, the gun held close to the sur- 





Plate 138.—The Distance of et Tee from the Surface and the 
mesu 


face-—from 4 to 6 inches. A narrow stretch painted 
with sharp edges. B, gun held two feet from surface, 
spraying a wide stretch with uneven edge. 

Moving the Gun Over the Surface——One of the 
important accomplishments which must be learned by 
practice is to move the gun steadily and at the correct 
rate of speed over a surface which is being painted. A 
new operator moves with a jerky motion and changes 
speed. The result of this action is to put on a thick 
and thin coating. In some places the equivalent of two 
or three coats of paint may be sprayed, while in others 
only one thin coat is put on where the hand is moved 


330 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


2 


rapidly. Perfect control of the muscular action will 
come with practice and also the aim to shoot the paint 
on the exact spot where it is needed will be perfected 
in a few hours of operation. The ideal is to move at 
the same rate of speed over the entire building surface 
and with the gun at the same distance from the surface. 

Repeating, that is, going back to shoot more paint 
on thin spots or areas which have been skipped can be 
perfectly done by experienced operators, but a new 
hand is apt to put too much paint on when attempting 
to spray small patches. <A careful operator, even though 
inexperienced, doesn’t skip any surface. 

Air Pressure Balance.—There are two points where 
air pressure is maintained in spray gun equipment. 
One pressure is on the paint storage tank, the other is 
at the nozzle of the gun for the purpose of atomizing 
the paint. 

Only enough air pressure should be put on the paint 
storage tank to cause the paint to run slowly out of 
the gun nozzle, not squirt out, to begin the adjustment. 
This means that the paint should dribble out of the gun 
- nozzle when the atomizing air pressure is turned off 
and when the gun is held as high up on the scaffold 
or roof as will be required to do the painting. 

When too much pressure is carried on the paint 
storage tank more paint is delivered at the nozzle than 
can be properly atomized by the air pressure at the 
nozzle. Then the gun will spray too coarse a mixture 
of paint and air. Part of the paint will be coarsely 
atomized and part will be hurled against the surface in 
thick patches. The surface will be flooded in places and 
not covered well in others. This excess of paint will 
then run, sag or wrinkle, especially on surfaces having 
too much gloss. 

The second air pressure is that at the gun nozzle. 
As stated its function is to atomize the paint, to break 


alas 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 331 


it up into very fine particles and convey it by force to 
the surface being painted. 

This atomizing pressure should be kept as low as 
possible,—it should be just great enough to atomize the 
paint as fast as it flows out of the nozzle. Too much 
atomizing pressure breaks up the paint into too fine 
a mist. There is more air than paint and so the mixture 
is too lean, too much fine mist is shot out. Over 
atomized paint will not hide and cover the surface well. 

Too little atomizing pressure results in the same 
action as too much pressure on the paint storage tank. 

To overcome these difficulties balance the two air 
pressures by the adjusting valves until the pressure 
on the tank feeds just enough paint to the nozzle to be 
completely atomized by the lowest atomizing pressure at 
the nozzle which can be used. The air pressures are 
balanced when the gun sprays on a coating of even 
thickness which hides the surface well. 

The amount of air pressure required for both 
purposes is subject to variation, depending upon— 

(A) The weight per gallon of the paint being sprayed. 
Prepared or ready mixed paints will average about 14 


pounds per gallon. Sometimes a little more and some- 


times less, depending upon the amount of basic pigments 
contained. White lead paints will weigh from 19 to 
22 pounds, depending upon how much oil is used with 
a given amount of pigment. Red lead paint will weigh 
from 31 to 40 pounds per gallon, depending upon the 
proportion of oil and pigment. 

(B) The height of the spray gun above the paint 
tank (not the air tank and compressor) when at work 
determines the amount of pressure needed on the paint 
storage tank to lift the paint up to the gun. Usually 
the paint tank is taken up on the scaffold or roof where 
the painting is being done. The paint tank should be 
kept within 50 feet of the gun at work, and 25 feet 1s 
better. 





332 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


To sum up, then, a heavy paint requires more 
pressure on the paint storage tank and for atomizing 
at the nozzle than a light paint or stain. A spray gun 
being used fifty feet above the paint storage tank 
requires greater air pressure in the paint storage tank 
than a gun being operated ten feet above the paint 
supply. The pressure on the paint storage tank may 
vary from two or three to twenty or thirty pounds, 
then, depending upon the weight of the paint and the 
height to which it must be lifted to the gun. 

The atomizing pressure varies from 10 to 60 Ibs. 
Lead and oil paint requires from 40 to 50 Ibs. atomizing 
pressure, depending upon how much oil or other thin- 
ner is in the paint,—lighter paints require less pressure. 

About Cleaning Spray Guns.—The mark of a good 
mechanic in any line of business is the possession of 
clean, sharp and well kept tools. And while there is 
both pride and satisfaction in the possession of such 
tools which do better work, even poorly kept tools 
generally will do some kind of work. In the case of 
the spray gun, however, absolute cleanliness is neces- 
sary to make the tool work at all. It will work 
perfectly only when as clean and shining as a new coin. 
Fortunately it is easy to clean a spray gun, as the tool 
has been perfected with this in view. The important 
thing is to clean this equipment at the right time and 
the right time is immediately after using it. 

If a spray gun is to be given a fair chance to do its 
work well it must be cleaned at the end of every day 
and upon completing every job. The gun may be 
allowed to stand a few hours when full of paint if it 
is to be used again that day. Then it should be hung 
up with both air and atomizing pressure turned on 
to reach the gun. In other words the gun should be 
ready to paint again simply by pulling the trigger. 
The paint storage tank must, of course, be kept closed. 

The proper way to clean a spray gun, paint hose 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 333 


and tank is to cut off the air pressure from the paint 
supply tank, pour out any paint left in the tank and 
clean out the tank. Then put benzine, mineral spirits 
or turpentine into the tank, connect it up again and 
turn on the pressure. Pull the trigger of the gun and 
keep open until all paint is washed out of the hose, 
the gun barrel and the valves, ete. Next disconnect the 
hose from the gun and take out the easily removable 
parts of the gun, wipe them clean with a cloth and 
immerse the gun barrel in a pot of benzine or other 
solvent. When all parts are clean and wiped dry the 
day’s work is done. It is not necessary to remove the 
paint from the paint tank if an extra, clean tank is at 
hand to fill with benzine and hook up to the material 
hose line. The tank containing paint must be covered, 
however, to prevent excessive skinning over and the 
paint must be strained before being used again with the 
spray gun. 

The air valve of a spray gun opens a little before 
the paint valve and it closes a little after the material 
valve. Thus the opening passages in the gun and 
nozzle are kept clean and free from paint by the force 
of the air. 

The compressed air used in a spray gun outfit has a 
drying effect on the paint being sprayed; and so that 
is another reason for being fastidious and even ‘‘fussy’’ 
about keeping your spray equipment clean. Air and 
material passages clogged with dry paint skins alter 
the flow of air and materials,—furthermore the moving 
parts of the gun are gummed up and will not work 
except in a sluggish manner. 

If the air spreader passages of the nozzle on the gun 
become clogged up with dry paint or dirt the paint. 
pattern sprayed will be fat or uneven at the edges as 
noted in Plate 139. Plate 134 shows these air spreader 
passages. 

When the nozzle passages become damaged by a fall, 


334 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 








Cc D 
OUTLET FOR PAINT RNY». \R SPREADER: 
AND AIR. Q > HOLES 





Dry Paint 
CLOGS OPENING 


Dry Paint SKIN 
CLOGS OPENING. 


Plate 139.—Defective Painting Done by an Unclean or Damaged 
Spray Gun Nozzle 


or from poking at them with wires or sharp tools, the 
spray pattern is uneven the same as when dirt or dry 
paint skins clog up the passages. Fat edges, fat wings 
or fat centers occur in the spray pattern as noted in 
Plate 139. 

The use of the incorrect size spray nozzle with a gun 
may cause difficulty with the spray pattern. ‘Take the 


_ 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 335 


manufacturer’s recommendation for the correct nozzle 
for each weight and body consistency of each kind 
of paint or other material to be sprayed. 

Care of the Machinery—Machines of many kinds are 
called automatic and they are automatic in operation, 
but they are not self sustaining in the sense that they 
do not need care. The best machine of any kind which 
ean be bought will fail to function properly sooner or 
later and do itself untold damage if it is not cared for 
at regular intervals. 

Spray machines are no exception to the rule. They 
are constructed with remarkable forethought to make 
their care easy and to require little time, but care for 
them you must if you want to protect your investment 
and get out of the machines the work they are competent 
to do. 

Certain parts of the gun need oil and they should 
be oiled a little after every cleaning. 

The material and air line hose should be kept spot- 
lessly clean inside and outside. Keep oil away from 
them, since oil and grease rot rubber. 

The paint storage tanks and control valves and con- 
nections must be cleaned every time they are used 
and kept free from dry paint skins and from an excess 
of oil. 

The air compressor is usually oiled from the crank- 
case in which you must maintain a level of the proper 
kind of oil. There is a gauge, or test drain cock, in the 
erankease to tell you when the proper oil level has been 
reached. The bearings in this compressor will wear ex- 
cessively when the oil is too old or insufficient in 
amount. The piston and walls of the compressor 
cylinder will wear excessively without sufficient oil of 
the right kind. Then the compressor will pump oil into 
the air supply and will not pump air efficiently. 

The automatic unloader or governor on the com- 
pressor rarely is called into use. It may become stuck 


336 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


in its seat, so it is well to open it by hand once in a 
while to make sure that it will work if needed. 

If gasoline engine is used for power, it requires that 
certain oil and grease cups be kept full of the proper 
kind of oil. The water cooled type requires attention 
to the water supply. Failure to care for the engine 
results in excessive wear of moving parts, burned out 
bearings, time lost trying to start the engine and 
expense in many ways. Follow the manufacturers’ 
printed instructions to the letter. 

If an electric motor is used for power it will require 
less attention. It, however, is provided with oil or 
grease cups to lubricate the shaft bearings. Keep them 
filled. Dust is detrimental to the proper working of 
motors. The armature and fields inside should be kept 
free from dust. It can be blown out often with com- 
pressed air. The carbon brushes on the motor will wear 
down and must be replaced at intervals. Inspect them 
often, not only to determine when they need to be 
renewed but to see that they are riding evenly on the 
armature surface. They should not spark when the 
motor is running. They will spark if any oil or dust 
gets on the smooth armature surface, if there are hard 
spots in the carbon brushes and if the armature surface 
becomes roughened up for any reason. A rough 
armature can often be smoothed up by taking a piece 
of very fine sandpaper about an inch wide and wrap- 
ping it over the end of a soft white pine stick of wood. 
When the motor is running hold the sandpaper firmly 
against the armature surface to grind it smooth. 
Repeat this two or three times. Then blow out the dust 
and fine sandpaper grit from the motor with air. The 
springs on the armature brushes sometimes break or 
lose their tension. All of them should bear down on the 
carbon with equal pressure. 

Before connecting up your motor to any power or 
light circuit there are several points which you must 


oe av ele 


PAINTING WITH TIE SPRAY GUN 337 


know absolutely. The large motors require too much 
current to operate from light circuits. They must be 
connected to power circuits, or circuits run into houses 
for cooking ranges. The smaller motors may be con- 
nected to light circuits. Also you must know whether 
the current is direct or alternating, the voltage, the 
eyele and phase of the current at hand and what is 
required by your motor. 

Number of Coats Necded.—On some surfaces ijmas 
possible to put on with a spray gun a paint film which 
is as thick as that put on the usual three or four coat 
brush job. But it is also possible to so control and 
direct the spray gun as to apply a very thin coat of 
uniform thickness over the entire surface. 

What is good practice in painting by older methods 
with the brush is also good practice when painting with 
the spray gun. Thin coats of paint dry faster and 
harder than thick coats. Thin coats make better foun- 
dation for future painting jobs than thick coats. So, 
while it is entirely practical to apply paint equivalent 
in thickness to three or four coats of brush applied 
paint, it is not wise to do so as a rule, but there are 
some exceptions. On many jobs it is practical to apply 
only one coat of paint with the spray gun and apply 
it thick enough to hide the surface and look well, but as 
a general thing two coats of paint put on with the spray 
eun will prove more satisfactory than one thick coat. 

The limitations as to the number of coats of material 
required are the limitations of the paint and the surface, 
not any limitations of the spray gun. You can spray 
the material on to the surface to form as thick a film 
as will remain there without running and as will dry 
properly. A thick film is apt to dry so slowly as to 
pick up enough dust or insects to discolor it. 

Inexperienced spray brush operators usually put on 
a thicker paint film than is necessary. It is easy to 
vive a man a four coat job when he pays for only two. 


338 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


That wastes material. A careless brush operator will 
also waste material by putting it on too thick in places. 

Time and Material Required.The first jobs finished 
with a spray gun by a new operator often require as 
much time as when the paint is put on with the brush 
in the common way. As experience is gained, however, 
speed will be acquired, too. An experienced operator 
working under favorable conditions will coat in from 
500 to 600 square feet of surface per hour and average’ 
from 4,000 to 6,000 square feet of surface painted per 
day of 8 hours. There are many records of greater 
accomplishment in this direction, 10,000 square feet 
of surface in an 8-hour day is not uncommon when the 
job is well managed and conditions are favorable. It 
is obvious, however, that the management of the job as 
to having proper materials on hand at the right time, 
correct scaffolding in place and other factors govern 
to a large extent the amount of surface covered. And, 
naturally, the skill and disposition of the operator and 
his helpers to work are determining factors. 

As to material used by a spray gun. It will vary 
from a little less to about ten per cent more paint than 
would be used for the same job and applied with a 
brush in the ordinary way. There is little or no loss 
of paint caused by working in a wind, contrary to popu- 
lar ideas. The gun is held so near to the surface (8 to 
10 inches) that there is no opportunity for loss in this 
respect. Such losses as occur are the result of spraying 
on paint films which are too thick or from spillage in 
handling the material. The latter item should not, how- 
ever, be greater than when the paint is handled for 
brushing. 

Protecting Window Glass.—It is very easy to 
protect window glass from paint spray or spatter, 
Provide a strip of drop cloth large enough for each 
window,-—about two feet longer. Usually a 7 or 8 foot 
strip is long enough. Lower the upper sash, hang the 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 339 


canvas over the top of the sash and close the upper sash. 
Raise the lower sash, tuck the bottom of the strip under 
it and lower the sash in place. When the windows are 
difficult to open, or not accessible from the inside, use 
glass push pins such as are used to hang pictures 
on interior walls to hold the cloth in place. 

Brush Painting Necessary Too.-The large trim 
like cornice facing on the average house may be prac- 
tically painted with the spray gun but small trim like 
window sash, doors, mouldings, etc. are more quickly 
painted with the brush. It is customary to have enough 
brush painters on a job to finish up the trim as fast 
as the spray guns coat the sides and large surfaces like 
roofs, ete. 

The spray gun operator can use a mask, or guard, 
made of tin six or eight inches wide and a foot or two 
long when spraying paint close up to window frames, 
corner boards and other trim which is painted a 
different color than the body. Experienced operators 
do not require the mask. They reduce the trigger pull 
on the gun, hold the gun close to the surface to cut a 
sharp edge and move it over the surface rapidly. <A 
surprisingly sharp line can be cut in this manner. 
A cleaner edge is often cut this way than is cut with 
a brush. 

Health and the Spray Gun.—In the painting business, 
as in most other trades and some professions, it is 
possible to carry on business in a way which will be 
injurious to health. It very largely depends upon the 
habits of the men. Some habits are, of course, due to 
ignorance of the risk and the better way to do the work. 

Practically speaking the health risks using the spray 
gun are identical with those involved in painting by 
any other method. The greatest risk is from inhaling 
dust resulting from dry sandpapering surfaces, par- 
ticularly interior surfaces. Then working in rooms 
with turpentine, benzine, benzole, ammonia, hydro- 


340 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


chloric acid, oxalic acid, fusel oil, amyl acetate, bronzing 
liquids and numerous other materials without having 
the windows open for plenty of ventilation is injurious 
to health and a violation of common sense. 

Spray guns regulated properly to atomize the paint 
at lower pressures and used from 6 to 10 inches from 
the surface as they should be used, have little oppor- 
tunity to cast off an amount of spray which is injurious 
when the ventilation is what it should be. When work- 
ing in rooms which are small, bathrooms, closets, ete., 
it is advisable to wear a mask or respirator. 

It all comes down to the fact that a careless, sloppy 
painter can injure himself with the spray gun just as 
he can with a swing stage, extension ladder, blow torch 
and sharp tools of many kinds. Reasonable care and 
clean habits will assure a safe and efficient use of spray 
guns and other painters’ tools. 

Durability of Sprayed Paint.—There are innumer- 
able jobs upon which the paint was sprayed a dozen 
years ago about the country and enough time has passed 
to confirm the statement that the durability of paint 
which is sprayed on is exactly the same as the dura- 
bility of that paint if it were applied by other means. 
The spray gun doesn’t alter the paint except that some- 
times more volatile thinners like benzine, mineral 
spirits or turpentine are added to reduce the body of 
the paint. These thinners, however, evaporate com- 
pletely and almost immediately leaving the paint as it 
was before spraying. 

The spray gun drives the paint into every crack and 
hole, giving the paint ample penetration and anchorage 
in the pores of the wood. There has been much talk 
among old-time painters about forcing paint into the 
wood by rubbing it in well with a brush, and while 
there is no doubt that good brushing is beneficial a 
study of a wood surface painted by any means, brush, 
spray or dip will show that after all the paint remains 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 341 


on the surface and gains very little penetration. Cut 
a painted board in two making a clean cut with a knife. 
Study it with a magnifying glass and you will get this 
point better. 

A confirmation of this idea comes from the methods 
which were found necessary among the railroads in the 
treatment of wood ties. They are dipped in a creosote 
oil preservative to keep them from rotting. Penetra- 
tion to any considerable extent by this very thin liquid 
was not gained until the ties were treated with the 
dipping process carried on in a tank from which the 
air was largely pumped out to create something like a 
vacuum. Even then penetration of the preserving 
liquid is not more than a fraction of an inch after the 
ties are dipped and soaked in the liquid. 

The difficulty encountered when we try to: make 
paint penetrate deeply into wood is, simply, that of 
working against air pressure in the wood. The struc- 
ture of a living tree is somewhat similar to that of a 
sponge. The cells of the wood are filled with sap or 
water. When the wood is seasoned by air, or in a kiln, 
the liquid is driven out. Nature will not allow a 
vacuum and so air rushes into the open pores. Now to 
fill those pores with paint we would have to draw out 
the air. Paint simply seals up these pores or air cells 
and penetrates only in a limited way whether brushed, 
sprayed or dipped. 

Drying Time Required.—Because paint sprayed on 
covers a surface so quickly, there is a tendency to rush 
the work, largely through anxiety to finish the job and . 
move on to the next one when an organization is keyed 
up to volume production. Fully as much time should 
be allowed for the drying of the paint between coats 
as when the paint is put on by brush methods. Then 
the undercoats will become harder and a more durable 
job is bound. to result. 

Creeping and Crawling—When the undercoats of 


342 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


paint are not fully dry, when a wood surface is oily, 
like cypress, when undercoats of paint have too much 
gloss, paint which is sprayed on is likely to creep and 
crawl,—that is, the new coat acts like water on oil, 
it will not stay where you put it. Brush coats of 
paint do the same thing, but sometimes a brush coat can 
be made to stick to a surface by repeated brushing when 
a sprayed coat would not stick. 

If a paint surface, or a bare wood surface like pitch 
pine or cypress, is wet from dew or frost or fog 
the paint may creep and crawl. Water or oil in the 
paint from the air supply would cause this same 
trouble. When the air is very moist the condenser 
may liquify a little of it. If this water gets into the 
air tank and accumulates until it is forced out into the 
air hose and through the spray gun, it may cause a 
little temporary creeping and crawling of paint. 

The remedy for this difficulty is to have your under 
coats dry and flat and clean. A coat of dry paint with 
too much gloss ean often be remedied quickly by wiping 
over it with a cloth wet with benzine or turpentine. 
Or, sometimes a bit of benzine sprayed on to the paint 
is sufficient to overcome the trouble. When sprayed 
paint creeps and crawls it is often quickly made to 
stay where you put it by simply brushing over the 
paint with a brush. Varnished and enameled sur- 
faces sometimes must be rubbed down with sandpaper 
before they can be painted with either spray or brush. 
A thin coat of benzole (160 degree solvent naphtha) 
brushed on will eut the gloss and rough up the varnish 
enough to allow paint to adhere to it. 

Paint Runs.—What causes paint to creep and crawl 
sometimes causes it to run, sag and wrinkle. The 
remedy then is the same, too. When a spray gun is 
held too long in one place with the trigger pulled open, 
more paint is sprayed on to the surface than it will 
hold. And of course moving the gun too slowly over 


2 


PAINTING WITH THE SPRAY GUN 343 


the surface amounts to the same thing. It must be 
moved steadily and fast enough to put just the right 
amount of paint on the surface to hide it well and 
stay there. With a little practice and observation this 
is easily done. When the air pressures on the paint 
in the storage tank and at the nozzle are not. balanced, 
too.much paint will be put on in spots or streaks and 
then it will run. When the paint is too rich in oil, 
having been mixed with too little turpentine, mineral 
spirits or benzine, it may run if sprayed on to a hard, 
non-absorbent surface or a very coid surface. 

Crimpy, Puckered Paint.—When the paint is put on 
too thick it gets crimpy, or wavy, and will dry in that 
condition if not brushed out well and evenly. The 
remedy is to readjust the gun and add more turpentine 
or mineral spirits to the paint to make it thinner. 

Paint Doesn’t Hide Surface.—Paint which has been 
mixed too thin and paint which is of poor quality 
fail to hide the surface well, even when well spread 
out to an even thickness. Cheap paints lack opacity 
and no quantity which could be sprayed or brushed 
on will hide the surface as well as good paint. 


CHAPTER XVI 
EXTERIOR STAINS AND STAINING 


THE procedure in doing a staining job is even more 
simple than on painting work. When both roofs and 
shingle belts or gables are to be stained where part 
of the building is also to be painted, it is advisable to 
complete the staining operations before the painting 
is done. Stain is so thin that it spatters and splashes 
without a show of much carelessness, and if stain of the 
creosote type is splashed on to newly painted wood, 
it will be difficult to remedy the defect at once. So 
finish staining the roof, gables, frieze belts and brick 
chimneys before going on to the painting. 

Stain may be applied with fiat wall brushes or with 
spray guns. Stains on roof shingles especially are much 
better preservatives when the new shingles are first 
dipped into stain and then brush coated after being 
nailed in place on the roof. 

Stains for Exterior Surfaces-—The use of stains on 
wood shingles placed on roofs and sides of houses is 
growing in favor. Stains on other exterior wood, such 
as rough-sawed clapboards, porch timbers and even on 
walls and chimneys built of common yellow brick are 
in common use. Unlike paint coats, shingle stain 
doesn’t hide the wood grain. It colors and brings out 
the wood grain figure; it preserves from decay. 

In some sections there are wood boring insects, white 
ants and others, which attack shingles unless protected 
with a creosote stain. And shingle stain also pro- 
tects against fungus growths which occur in some 
climates. Such growths promote decay by harboring 
moisture, 

344 


EXTERIOR STAINS AND STAINING 345 

Dipping Shingles—The best handling of shingle 
stains is to dip one coat and brush one coat. Dipping 
gives a more uniform color. The shingles are dipped 
two-thirds their length. A barrel or tub is used. A 
metal trough is placed with one end on the tub or 
barrel and the other end raised so the excess stain will 
drain back into the barrel. Note this equipment in 
Plate 140. 

The dipping operation is done by first breaking open 





Plate 140.—Dipping Shingles in Stain 
a bundle of shingles; then take as many shingles as 
you can hold in two hands and with butt (thick) ends 
down dip them into the stain. Pull out the shingles 
immediately and place on the drain trough and dip 
another batch. When the drain trough is full remove 


346 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


the first few lots of shingles dipped and scatter them 
in a pile loosely on the ground so they will dry. Allow 
the shingles to dry at least over night before gather- 
ing them again into bundles or handling. The shingles 
should not be allowed to soak in the stain—dip them 
in and pull them right out again. 

Mottled Colored Roofs——Color blend roofs are ar- 
tistic, indeed, and are becoming popular. They are 
produced by dipping the shingles for one roof into 
from two to four different colors or shades of one color; 
—that is, a few handfuls of shingles will be dipped into 
light gray, for instance; then some are dipped into a 
little darker gray and next a still darker gray is used. 
All the shingles are thrown into one pile loose to become 
mixed, They are laid just as they come, giving the roof 
a varigated or mottled appearance. Sometimes various 
colors are used such as dull brown, dark brown, dull 
gray, dull green, dull red-brown, ete. The stain liquids 
have very little color in them and so the difference in 
the colors of various shingle batches are very little, but 
on the roof a beautiful mottled blend is the result. If 
strong greens, reds, browns, ete., are used the artistic 
effect is lost, in fact, the roof would appear quite as 
much in poor taste as the many mixed color composi- 
tion shingle roofs one sees. 

Staining Old Shingles.—Restaining old roofs which 
have been stained before is often done, and, of course, 
only one or two brush coats are possible. Best results 
come often from staining the same color as before, 
but some changes of color are effective. A restained 
roof over old stain will dry out darker than the same 
stain on new shingles. An old red stained roof cannot 
be stained green satisfactorily. Your green stain is 
transparent and will not hide the red color,—and the 
reverse is also true. 

A light brown old stain can be restained with red 
stain and the result will be a deep maroon. Dark 


EXTERIOR STAINS AND STAINING Mae 


brown over light brown succeeds well, while dark green’ 
over light brown makes an attractive dark green. 

Paint vs. Stain—Shingle roofs in some sections are 
painted with common house paints mixed rather thin, 
— »vith about one quart extra of turpentine per gallon 
of paint. 

The painting of old shingle roofs is of doubtful merit, 
in fact, there are good painters who reason that to 
paint shingle roofs hastens their destruction by decay. 
Their theory is that even when carefully painted the 
paint seals up the top surface only of each shingle. 
The sides and butts to some extent remain open and 
absorb the rain and snow. The paint on top of the 
shingles, then, not only fails to keep water out but pre- 
vents the shingles from drying out, or at least retards 
the evaporation of the water and favors decay. Stain 
doesn’t necessarily seal up the wood, but creosote and 
linseed oil have preservative qualities. 

If new shingles were dipped in paint and then brush 
coated, they would, of course, be well preserved. This 
is not a customary method as far as the author is aware. 

Suitable Stains.—Certain manufacturers have done 
extensive research work in this field and have developed 
remarkably beautiful stains which are both brilliant as 
to color and permanent. Strictly speaking they are 
not non-fading in sunlight but they fade only enough to 
subdue and soften the vivid colors and that adds beauty 
to them. Even the vivid blue-greens retain their lively 
hue after many months in the sun, although a bit sub- 
dued and softened in tone. Some stains are good pro- 
tection for the wood, especially when the wood is 
dipped first and then brush-coated. 

When any considerable area of surface is to be 
stained it is most practical and satisfactory to pur- 
chase factory-prepared shingle stains, especially in the 
vivid greens or other bright colors. Such stains are 
always uniform in color and composition. 


348 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Stain Formulas.—Shingle stains have been mixed 
by painters in past years using the best grade of tinting 
colors, ground in oil, such as are used for tinting white 
paint :— 

Brown Stain—Use burnt umber, or raw umber. 
Black asphaltum varnish thinned with turpentine or 
benzine makes a good brown or weathered, mission stain. 

Yellow Stain.—Raw sienna makes the most durable 
light brown or yellow stain. 

Green Stain.—Medium or dark chrome green is the 
only color available to the painter. Such a stain fades 
rather too quickly in sunlight to be satisfactory. A 
stain mixed from raw umber, raw sienna and enough 
chrome green to make a dark green is more durable. 
The factory-prepared green stains are much more per- 
manent as to color, as a rule. 

Red Stains—Burnt sienna and Venetian red are 
the most satisfactory for red stains. They are earth 
pigments and are permanent as to color in the sunlight. 

Black Stains—Raw umber and ultramarine blue 
make the best blue-black stains. Juaampblack may be 
used, Asphaltum varnish and benzine or turpentine 
brushed on generously make a dark brown stain that 
is nearly black. | 

Blue Stains.—Ultramarine blue is the most practical, 
more so than Prussian blue which fades rapidly when 
exposed to sunlight. Factory-made blue-green stains 
are better. 

Silver Gray Stain——Gray stains are much in favor 
for both exterior and interior surfaces. Such a stain 
may be mixed on this basis :— 

20 Ibs. zine oxide in oil paste 
1 qt. pale japan drier 

1 qt. raw linseed oil 

14 gal. yellow ecresylie acid 

1 or 2 ounces lamp black 

1 to 2 gal. benzine 


EXTERIOR STAINS AND STAINING 349 


Cresylie acid is used as a preservative instead of 
ereosote oil which would discolor a light gray stain. 

Liquids for Stains—The liquids used with tinting 
colors are these: Thin the tinting color paste with tur- 
pentine to rather thick brushing consistency. Then thin 
finally with these proportions—2 gallons raw linseed 
oil, 1 gallon coal tar creosote oil and 1% gallon of japan 
drier. 

The crude creosote oil (dead oil) is very dark in color 
and smells like carbolic acid. Not a pleasant material 
to work with; in fact, it will burn the skin. When 
dipping shingles one should rub linseed oil over the 
hands and face, also wear gloves as a precaution. If 
the oil does get on your skin, rub oil, not water, on it 
and wipe off with a cloth. Water makes it burn more 
because erude creosote oil contains water-soluble acids. 

Crude creosote will dry on any surface, even on 
metal, unless thinned with kerosene. Benzine is better 
for thinning to make the oil lighter in color so tinting 
colors added to it will exert their strength. Refined 
ereosote is better for making colored stains, although 
the erude oil is suitable for very dark colors. 

For dipping shingles or clapboards thin one gallon 
of the color paste (which has been previously broken 
up with turpentine) with about 7 gallons of the liquids 
—linseed oil, creosote and japan drier in the propor- 
tions described above. } 

For brush coats mix about 2 gallons of the color and 
turpentine mixture with 7 gallons of the liquids in 
the above proportion. 

When cheaper stains are to be mixed the liquid 
portion may be mixed in these proportions and with 
these ingredients :—1 gallon kerosene (water white 150 
degree test) 1 gallon coal tar ereosote oil and 3 pints 
of japan drier. 

For covering capacity of stains see chapter ROvL 


CHAPTER XVII 
PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 


Wuen thinking about paint and painting there-ap- 
pear to be no constants,—all elements are variables. 
It is quite impossible to find a job of painting which is 
exactly duplicated by another as to surface, paint, work- 
manship and weather. There is continual necessity for 
exercising good judgment. And so, obviously, consid- 
erable knowledge of surface, paint, proper application 
and suitable painting weather is essential. 

When a job of painting fails it is not always easy 
to find the cause. We ought not to draw hasty con- 
clusions because a proper conclusion must be based upon 
knowledge of all factors. These four elements influence 
the success or failure of every paint job:— 

1. Surface—Kind, whether soft and porous, hard 
and impervious in structure, open or close grain, tough 
or weak fibre. 

Condition,—dry and well seasoned, air seasoned or 
kiln dried, wet, full of oil, sap, gum and resin, rough 
or smooth. 

2. Paint—Very soft and chalky, moderately soft 
and elastic, very hard and brittle, moderately hard and 
elastic, very elastic and tacky. 

3. Workmanship—Correct brushing, sufficient brush- 
ing, application of a coat of even thickness and uni- 
formity, time allowed for drying between coats, mixing 
proportions of pigments, vehicles and thinners. 

4, Weather—Rain, snow, sleet, frost, dew and tem- 


perature at time of application of the paint. 
350 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 35] 


We soon forget conditions of surface, weather, and 
as a rule have no measure or record of the workmanship 
on a job. So usually the failure of paint satisfactorily 
to protect or decorate a surface is stated as having been 
caused by poor paint or a poor painter. And it is 
easier to lay the blame on the material which is tangible 
and ever present when all other elements have been 
forgotten. 

Paint value is relative. No paint is foolproof. The 
best of paint when subjected to unfavorable conditions 
of surface, workmanship or weather is apt to fail. 
That is why we must have not only good paint but 
good painters who have the necessary experience and 
knowledge upon which to base good judgment and so 
assure proper application of good paint to fit surfaces 
and under favorable conditions. 

Cracking and Scaling Paint——Perhaps the best 
thought to fix in mind first about this form of paint 
failure is that all surfaces painted, wood, brick, ce- 
ment and metals, expand when heated by the sun and 
contract during cold weather. In fact surfaces alter- 
nately expand and contract each day and night as the 
sun heats them up and the night cools them off. In 
other words, there is constant movement of the sur- 
face painted. 

If there was no movement of surface or if paint ex- 
panded and contracted to the same degree as the sur- 
face under the influence of temperatures it would be 
less difficult for paint to remain attached to the sur- 
face. But paint expands to different degrees or amounts 
depending upon how much or how little oil is used 
with the pigments. 

It is plain that when a surface expands more than 
the paint covering it the paint film cracks. Likewise 
when one coat of paint, an under coat, expands more 
than a top coat the top coat cracks. The weather gets 
into these cracks and usually the paint scales off. 


352 HOUSE PAINTING METIIODS 


With certain kinds of paints the oil of one coat 
penetrates other coats and tends to establish an equilib- 
rium. But, of course, when a coat lacking in oil and 
elasticity is spread over a coat rich in oil, but which 
is dry, there is no such balancing of the oil content. 

Another factor which is concerned in the cracking 
and scaling of paint is that of penetration. When 
paint is so mixed that it gains good penetration into 
the pores of the wood and anchors itself, there is much 
less likelihood that the paint will scale off. Paint which 
has cracked usually scales off eventually, but not always. 

Cracking of paint is usually considered that condi- 
tion when the cracks on being looked at with a magni- 
fying glass extend clear through the paint coats from 
top to the bare surface. Checking and alligatoring, on 
the other hand, refer to the condition where the cracks 
are only on the surface coats of paint. The cracks are 
usually fine and are superficial. 

In the condition called cracking the cracks are usually 
wider apart, including wider areas between and they 
may run either parallel or across the grain of the wood. 

Wood shrinks a great deal more across the grain 
than in the direction of the grain on drying or season- 
ing. How much lumber shrinks after being painted 
depends, of course, upon how well seasoned it was before 
painting. Considerable shrinkage is possible as may be 
noted from the wood fibre construction. A piece of 
wood is not a solid, but is made up of fibres and cells. 
The cells are filled with water. Proper seasoning re- 
moves most of this water by air or kiln drying methods. 

When wood shrinks excessively after painting the 
paint is bound to erack and to bulge. The cracks will 
extend in the direction of the grain length, although 
the shrinkage is across the grain. The wood fibres run 
parallel to the grain of the wood, so when the moisture 
leaves the fibres come closer together, causing the 
shrinkage across the grain of the wood. 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 853 


Upon drying, paint shrinks to some extent. Linseed 
oil shrinks in volume, although it gains in weight upon 
drying. How much the paint shrinks upon drying de- 
pends upon whether or not there is a chemical reaction 
taking place in the paint after application. The shrink- 
age of the paint is in all directions, while the wood 
shrinks considerably across the grain but hardly to any 
appreciable extent parallel to the grain. When the 
wood contracts more across the grain than the paint, the 
paint bulges and then cracks in the opposite direction. 

It is obvious, then, from these facts that good paint 
must be elastic enough to expand and contract with the 
wood in order to avoid cracking and the scaling which 
follows as a rule. 

The remedy for the prevention of cracking and 
scaling consists of controlling both the composition and 
the mixing proportions of paint pigments and liquids. 
Thick paint films are more likely to crack and seale 
than thin ones. Paint may not scale for years,—until 
the surface has been painted about three times. If the 
paint used each time doesn’t gradually wear off, that 
is, chalk off moderately and naturally, it will sooner or 
later form a thick film which is too hard, brittle and 
inelastic. Because the film is so thick it is strong and 
heavy. The moisture in the wood, then, more easily 
forces it off in scales. ' 

The paint, then, should be mixed so it will wear off 
very slowly. A balance must be found. If the under- 
coats are too soft as a result of the oil content and 
the pigment character the softness will promote check- 
ing. If the undercoats are too hard and inelastic they 
will promote cracking and scaling. | 

Having the wood well seasoned and thoroughly dry 
at the time of painting is also one of the best ways to 
overcome sealing and cracking. 

Very soft woods like cottonwood when painted with 
moisture in the wood will dry-rot under the paint. The 


354 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


wood fibres so weakened crumble and of course the 
paint cracks and scales off. Also this wood moulds very 
quickly when wet and paint put on over mould is apt 
to erack and scale off when the weak fibres crumble 
because of the mould. 

A study of this subject will lead one to note that 
poor paint often doesn’t manifest its weakness until a 
house has been painted about three times. At the end 
of ten or twelve years the paint film has become so heavy 
and thick that it falls off of its own weight, after 
cracking and scaling has developed a little. So, unfor- 
tunately, we must often go to the point where repaint- 
ing has taken place twice to determine the value of | 
paint. The first painting may be satisfactory, and some- 
times even with paint which is too hard and brittle to 
wear off gradually the second painting will stand up 
without a great deal of checking, cracking or scaling, 
but the third painting tells the tale and brings on the 
expense of burning and scraping all of the old paint 
off before a substantial job can be done which the 
painter can afford to guarantee against continued crack- 
ing and scaling, no matter how good his new paint 
and workmanship may be. 

Blistering and Peeling—Many do not differentiate 
between cracking and scaling and blistering and peel- 
ing, yet there are important differences. Moisture plays 
a part in both cases, but in the case of blisters the 
moisture gathers in spots under a film which is not 
cracked, under paint which is firmly attached to the 
wood. 

When wood is painted while wet from lack of suf- 
ficient seasoning, when painting is done while it is 
raining, while there is frost, dew, mist or snow on the 
wood the moisture is sealed up. Moisture has the faculty 
of gathering together in one place and then the hot 
sun on the surface draws it out of the wood and into 
a pocket between the paint film and the wood. Next 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 355 


the paint film breaks from pressure set up by the heat 
of the sun and the paint over the blister naturally 
peels off. The peeling is not general over the whole 
surface, but only appears in spots where moisture or 
sap accumulates. 

Wood may become wet in many ways. It may be too 
young, too little time having been allowed for the green 
wood to dry out. Wood may become water soaked from 
eareless use of water by the plasterers in new buildings, 
from leaks in roofs, rain gutters, flashing over windows 
and doors or from leaks in plumbing or heating pipes. 
Moisture may creep up into wood in contact with the 
earth. 

Oil or grease on a surface painted over will also 
cause blistering. 

The use of old fatty or rancid linseed oil will cause 
blistering of paint. 

Whatever the explanation as to the cause of the 
moisture, the remedy for the difficulty is to remove the 
cause first. When the supply of moisture has been shut 
off, let the wood dry out thoroughly, scrape off the 
blisters, touch up the bare spots of wood and repaint 
the whole surface. 

When the painter is at all suspicious that the wood 
is not dry in a new building he is wise to allow much 
more time than usual for drying after the priming coat 
has been put on. This thin coat will allow moisture to 
escape through it from the wood out much more effec- 
tively than it will allow more moisture to get into the 
wood from the outside. As a rule there is much more 
dry weather than wet. A month for drying after the 
priming coat is none too much in some cases. 

There is no necessity for burning and scraping all 
the paint off of the whole surface of a building when 
there are only evidences of blistering and peeling. 
That is purely a local condition. But when it 1s a 
ease of eracking and scaling, indicating an insecure 


356 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


anchorage of the paint on the whole surface, there is 
no remedy which will justify giving a guarantee against 
future cracking and scaling unless every inch of the 
old paint is removed down to the bare wood, so the 
new paint can gain anchorage and penetration for 
itself. It cannot depend upon the old paint which is 
an insecure foundation. 

The paint on iron and steel surfaces will blister and 
peel off sometimes. , And it is impossible, of course, that 
this is due to moisture from the surface. These metal 
surfaces will, however, rust under the paint when condi- 
tions are favorable for electrolysis. The blisters may 
be formed by some gases released from the corroding, 
rusting action of the electric currents on the metal. 

The blistering of paint noted on doors which face 
south is usually due to painting the doors with coats 
mixed too rich in oil; the paint is too elastic. Some- 
times such doors contain moisture from poorly seasoned 
wood. The remedy in such eases is to burn and scrape 
off all of the old paint and varnish. Then mix your 
first coat of paint with about one fourth linseed oil 
and three fourths turpentine. The next coat or two 
should be mixed to dry entirely flat. Colors ground in 
japan and thinned with turpentine only are often used 
for the second and third coats. The last coat, then, is 
first class spar varnish. The method used by English 
decorators in such eases is to put on two coats of water 
paint and one or two coats of oil paint on top. If the 
final coat is to be varnish, the next to the last coat must 
be mixed to dry flat, with turpentine mostly and very 
little oil. 

Blistering usually occurs only on new coats of paint 
on new surfaces, but when both moisture and heat are 
excessive it may occur on old paint too. The moisture 
which came out and caused the blisters may disappear, 
but the paint remains detached from the wood and will 
peel off sooner or later. 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 357 


Checking and Alligatoring of Paint.—This is the con- 
dition of paint which shows many fine surface checks or 
eracks which do not go through all coats to the bare 
surface below. Note this difference. Cracking as ex- 
plained heretofore shows deep cracks to the wood. 

When paint shows numerous fine cracks enclosing 
areas of small size it is called checking, while larger 
areas of paint in the same condition are called alliga- 
toring. In the latter case one or two sides of the paint 
of each area may be curled or turned up while the others 
are apparently attached firmly to the surface. These 
two conditions are no doubt the result of the same 
eauses. Alligatoring is said by some authorities to be a 
continuation of checking. It is so named because the 
paint in that condition looks like the skin on the back of 
alligators. At any rate when the cracks are fine inter- 
lacing lines the condition is called checking and when 
the cracks are larger, farther apart and enclosing larger 
areas of paint within them the condition is called 
alligatoring. 

The use of heavy coats of slow drying paint on wet or 
unseasoned wood, or wood loaded with sap, gum or resin’ 
may cause alligatoring or checking. Tough and in- 
elastic paint is especially a favorable factor in devel- 
oping this defect. The application of varnish over 
undercoats of paint which are rich in oil and conse- 
quently more elastic than the varnish will cause alliga- 
toring of paint. This is easily noted on much of the 
graining work done on window sash. If the undercoats 
are yellow ochre or any similar paint which doesn’t dry 
hard the alligatoring is especially pronounced. 

The application of a second coat of paint over a first 
coat rich in oil before the first coat has time to become 
thoroughly dry, not just dry enough on the surface 
to permit brushing on another coat, affords a favorable 
condition for checking or alligatoring. The first coat 


358 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


remains soft while the second coat continues to oxidize 
until much harder than the first coat. 

When we have undercoats which are more elastic 
because they contain more oil or because they have not 
been allowed to dry thoroughly before the next coat has 
been put on we find that the last coat continuing to dry 
gets harder, less elastic and shrinks more than the under 
coats. Then the last coat cracks up into the condition 
we call checking or alligatoring. The way to avoid this 
defect is to allow your undercoats to become thoroughly 
dry, not merely dry enough on the surface to permit 
spreading on another coat, and to have fully as much or 
more oil in the last coat as in the undercoat. Usually 
less oil in the undercoat is to be preferred. Too much 
oil in undercoats causes creeping, crawling, running and 
sagging during damp or cold weather. 

When undercoats of paint have non-drying mineral 
or other non-volatile oils in them, when the undercoats 
are yellow ochre or any paint which will not dry hard 
checking or alligatoring is quite certain to appear as the 
finishing coat becomes dry, shrinks and gets harder with 
oxidation. 

The causes and remedy for checking and alligatoring 
were ably expressed by Dr. G@. W. Thompson, Chief 
Chemist of the National Lead Company in these words: 
‘‘From the writers’ experience, the causes of checking 
are identical with the causes of alligatoring, and he has 
experimentally produced a series of paint defects be- 
ginning with very fine checks on one side and ending up 
with very large alligatoring on the other side. If alli- 
gatoring takes place, it simply means that the under 
coat is relatively much softer than the outer coat. If 
checks occur, it means that this difference in the hard- 
ness of coats is not so great as in the case of alligatoring, 
but the difference is in degree, not in kind. 

‘In order to avoid checking and alligatoring, it is 
best to seek to have the undercoats as hard as is practi- 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 359 


eable, and to have these coats, relatively speaking, mueh 
harder than the outer coats. This is the practice in 
coach and earriage painting, where very little oil ‘is 
used in the undercoats, and as we know coach and car- 
riage painting is perhaps the best type of painting there 
is. Now in the case of house painting, suppose we have 
checking and want to avoid it, how shall we proceed? 
The answer is inevitable. We must so modify our 
undercoats as to secure a hardness sufficiently greater 
than that to which the outer coat will attain, and then 
checking will be avoided. To make the undercoats 
sufficiently hard, various methods can be adopted.”’ 

There is reason to believe that checking and alliga- 
toring, being only surface conditions and not going 
through all paint coats to the bare wood, are to be pre- 
ferred to cracking and scaling as the lesser of two evils. 
A checked surface may be painted over without burning 
and scraping off all of the paint, while cracked and 
sealed paint must be removed because the cracks go 
through all coats and because the paint has lost its at- 
tachment to the wood. If you make paint too hard in 
attempting to avoid checking it will crack and scale off. 
If you mix all coats too soft to avoid checking and also 
eracking and scaling you are apt to produce chalking. 
But chalking moderately is a desirable occurrence, it is 
the better choice between two evils one of which is 
necessary. | 

As in the ease of blistering and peeling the best pre- 
caution to avoid checking and alligatoring is to allow 
plenty of time between coats of paint to assure complete 
and hard drying of the under coats before the final coats 
are put on. Avoid the use of non-drying oils like 
kerosene and other mineral oils, avoid the use of slow 
drying materials like ochre and lamp black in large 
quantities and avoid the use of materials which do not 
dry hard like asphaltum paints and varnishes under 
finishing coats on exterior surfaces. Avoid the use of 


360 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


old fatty or rancid linseed oil which has stood around in 
open pots for some time. Avoid the use of rosin oil or 
similar rosin products, hard oil, ete. 

Chalking of Paint.—At the outset it should be kept 
in mind that moderate chalking is as stated before the 
better choice between two evils one of which is necessary. 
Excessive chalking is not desirable or necessary. 

All paint will wear out sometime and it usually wears 
out in one of two ways, speaking generally. Paint will 
either crack and scale off, necessitating removal with 
blow torch or gas paint burner and scrapers, or it will 
chalk off leaving a surface in good condition for re- 
painting. 

What constitutes moderate chalking and excessive 
chalking is the point of interest. A paint which is too 
soft, one which lacks enough linseed oil to satisfy the 
suction of the wood or old paint and to leave enough 
oil on the surface to bind the pigment together and to 
the surface will chalk excessively. But such a paint will 
remain elastic enough to avoid cracking and scaling, 
even though it does lose its gloss too soon and does dust 
off the surface too rapidly, making repainting necessary 
before reasonable service has been given. A paint which 
is mixed from pigments which form too hard a paint 
film will never chalk but it will crack and scale off. 
The perfect paint is that which is hard enough to retard 
chalking to the utmost and yet avoid cracking and 
scaling, one which wears out finally by slow chalking 
and leaves the surface in perfect condition for repaint- 
ing and avoids the expense of burning and scraping off 
old paint. 

White lead, lithopone and titanium oxide paints are 
said to be too soft when used alone and to chalk, while 
zine oxide is said to be too hard and to promote cracking 
and sealing if used alone or in excessive amounts with 
the first named pigments. 

Whether chalking is desirable or undesirable, then, 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 361 


is a matter of degree. Excessive chalking means that 
the dry pigment will brush off on the clothing, it will 
powder off and will be washed off by the rains. Mod- 
erate chalking is hardly perceptible, the action is so 
slow. The best of paints do not remain in good con- 
dition on an average more than three or four years. If 
by the end of that service it has chalked enough to 
reduce the thickness of the film a little and has left 
the surface slightly rough with a ‘‘tooth’’ which helps 
the new coats of paint to gain firm attachment, that 
paint has served well. It avoids the accumulation of a 
thick body of paint which favors cracking and scaling 
later on when the film becomes very heavy, too heavy 
to be held to the surface by the penetration and anchor- 
age of the priming coat which is a dozen or more years 
old during the movements of the surface caused by tem- 
perature changes. 

How to slow up the rate of chalking of paint and to 
reduce the extent to which chalking may proceed, with- 
out making a paint which is so hard and inelastic that 
it will erack and scale off, is the paint problem which 
has received a great deal of attention for many years. 
In the manufacture of prepared or ready mixed paints 
paint chemists have added zine and inert pigments to 
white lead on the theory that a mixture of these two 
pigments, a hard one and a soft one each, would add its 
virtues to the paint. In the very recent development of 
titanium oxide paints, zine is added to the former to 
offset its marked tendency to chalk excessively. And to 
lithopone in its improved form zine and inert pigments 
like barytes and silica are added to make paint for ex- 
terior surfaces. 

Chalking is kept down to a moderate degree in the use 
of white lead paints by judicious use of linseed oil and - 
turpentine. Only enough oil is used in the priming 
coat on new wood to satisfy the suction of the wood and 
bind the pigment together. A few years ago lead was 


- 362 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


mixed for the priming coat with from 5 to 6 gallons of 
oil and 1 gallon of turpentine to 100 Ibs of white lead. 
Now the best thought is that about 4 gallons of oil and 
1 gallon of turpentine is the best proportion for the 
average new wood. And for the second or body coat 
much less liquids are used in order to put more pigment 
on the surface and make a harder wearing more compact 
film of paint. The proportion of liquids for the second 
coat are commonly stated as 11% gallons of oil and 14% 
gallons of turpentine to 100 pounds of white lead. The 
turpentine has about twice the thinning ability of oil, 
so the paint really isn’t as thick as might appear on 
first thought. The finishing coat for this method uses 
from 31% to 4% gallons of oil and only 1 pint of tur- 
pentine to 100 lbs of lead. Painted in this manner the 
chalking of the paint is reduced very considerably. 

The natural wearing out or chalking of paint is ac- 
complished both by mechanical action of the weather, 
atmospheric oxygen, and chemical actions going on in 
the paint. The destruction is progressive. When the 
surface or outer layer of paint chalks or washes off 
another layer is exposed to this action and so continual 
action is taking place until the final and complete de- 
struction of the paint, leaving the wood bare and ex- 
posed to destruction. So the best paint chemists of 
today mix their paints to establish a chemical balance 
between pigments, oil vehicles, volatile thinners, driers 
and colors aiming to produce an ideal paint which will 
not check, crack, seale or flake off, but will chalk or wear 
away very gradually leaving a good surface for 
repainting. 

Loss of Gloss.—The gloss on exterior paints is the re- 
sult of using linseed oil, of having an excess of oil on 
the surface over what is needed to bind the paint. In 
the best of work the gloss is a very temporary finish and 
it has no doubt been overemphasized as to its importance. 
Boiled linseed oil will give a higher gloss than raw oil, 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 363 


but it too will not last more than days or weeks at best. 

When too little linseed oil has been used in the last 
coat of paint there will be little or no gloss. When too 
few coats of paint have been used on a dry and porous 
surface the paint will be dead flat in spots and only 
fairly glossy in others. When a job is finished late in 
the day and a frost or dew settles on the wet paint the 
gloss will often disappear, though no harm has usually 
been done to the wearing ability of the paint. 

Thinking of the chemistry of the problem the loss of 
gloss means the beginning of the destruction of the oil 
in the paint. Oil is destroyed by oxidation. When it 
begins to dry it begins to oxidize. It continues to take 
on oxygen until the complete destruction of the 
film. That is one reason for using only a minimum of 
japan drier with paint. Drier speeds the drying, or 
oxidizing process. Too much drier simply causes the 
paint to wear out too soon. 

Washing of Paint.—Cases of washing, that is the 
removal of the paint pigment by rains upon the surface, 
are not at all common. The point to be noted in this 
defect is the accumulation of pigment at the bottom of 
walls on the water table and at the foot of porch 
columns. 

The cause of washing is usually stated as the action 
of sulphur gas from soft coal burned in industrial dis- 
tricts, by railroads or other coal burning institutions. 
Oil refineries and many other kinds of industries throw 
off sulphur gases from their manufacturing processes. 

Washing of paint results from the presence of water 
soluble compounds on the surface. These water solubles 
may result from the action of the gases of the air or 
from the chemical actions of the paint pigments and 
liquids with each other. Excessive chalking of the paint 
indicates a condition similar to washing in so far as the 
rain washes down the loose pigment on the surface. 

Paint which washes is usually in good condition under 


364 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


the surface and, of course, the washing does no harm 
until it proceeds to the point where the wood is left bare 
and unprotected. 

As a rule washing doesn’t occur until after the gloss 
of the paint has disappeared, so the methods suggested 
under the heading of chalking for retarding that defect 
and prolonging the gloss are also effective to overcome 
or retard washing. A surface from’ which the paint 
has washed is usually in good condition for repainting. 

Another characteristic of surfaces from which the 
paint is washing is that of streaks of dirt and blotches 
and stains. These can usually be removed by washing 
the surface with clear water, especially soft water. 

Washing is of course more likely to occur in the cities 
and in the industrial districts than in the country, be- 
cause of the greater amount of soft coal smoke and 
sulphur gases in the former localities. 

Tacky and Slow Drying Paint.—Most cases of tacky 
paint on exterior surfaces become dry eventually, but 
often only after they have become discolored with dust 
or insects. Occasionally a job will turn up which will 
not dry hard in months and the author has inspected 
jobs which did not dry in a year and a half. 

The causes of slow drying are many. The first one 
to look for is the use of adulterated linseed oil, oil in 
which kerosene or other mineral oils have been mixed, 
oil containing ish oil, rosin oil, gloss oil or some non- 
drying oil. Japan drier which has been mixed with one 
of these non-drying oils causes the paint to act in the 
Same manner if used in any appreciable quantities. 
Even pure linseed oil which has stood around in open 
cans for a long time and which has become fatty or 
rancid will cause tacky paint. The foots from pure lin- 
seed oil, the thick oil drawn from the bottom of a barrel 
of pure linseed oil which has been subjected to many 
fluctuations of temperature, will cause paint to remain 
soft and tacky. 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 365 


The use of large amounts of tinting colors of a cheap 
grade and which are ground in mineral oil or fish oil or 
some other non-drying oil will cause tacky paint. 

The use of raw linseed oil in large proportion on a wet 
surface, a hard sap-filled wood, and oily or greasy wood 
or a surface washed with sal soda, when the soda has 
not been completely removed by washing, will cause the 
paint to remain soft and tacky. Cold, wet weather and 
hot, wet weather both retard the drying of paint. The 
use of slow-drying tinting colors like lampblack, yellow 
ochre and chrome green without enough japan drier 
will result in slow drying paint and under some con- 
ditions tacky paint. The spreading of a coat of paint 
over previous coats before the under coats have become 
completely dry is not only apt to cause slow drying or 
tacky paint but checking and alligatoring of the paint 
later on. 

The application of a full oil paint to a high gloss 
surface of paint enamel or varnish without first sand- 
papering down the surface may cause slow drying and 
tacky paint for a while. 

As to the remedy for tacky paint which is now on 
the surface. A coat of turpentine with about one fourth 
drier brushed on to the paint will often cause the tacky 
surface to disappear. If that fails, the application of 
a thin coat of paint composed mostly of turpentine, 
drier and pigment may remedy the difficulty. Other- 
wise about the only recourse is to burn and scrape off the 
paint and replace it with properly mixed paint of good 
quality. 

Runs, Sags and Wrinkles——Slow drying is one of the 
causes when paint runs, sags and wrinkles. The appli- 
cation of full gloss paint on to gloss surfaces, instead of 
flat or semi-flat surfaces, is the most common cause and 
of course the remedy is to mix the undercoats to dry 
flat or semi-flat by using more turpentine and less oil in 
undercoats. 


366 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


Paint which is put on too thick, that is, when too - 
much paint is put on and it is not well brushed out, is 
apt to result in one of these defects. The use of raw 
linseed oil in paint during wet, cold seasons or hot, 
wet seasons, especially over gloss surfaces and with slow 
drying colors like lamp black, chrome green and yellow 
ochre is likely to cause paint to run, sag or wrinkle. 

Any of the causes related above for tacky paint and 
slow drying is apt to cause runs, sags or wrinkles. 

When paint shows a tendency to perform in this way 
it can often be made to brush or spray on properly by 
first wiping over the surface with a cloth wet with 
benzine or turpentine; this to remove the gloss or grease. 

Sandpapering is effective, of course, in cutting the 
gloss on wood trim to be painted and washing interior 
walls with water in which a little sal soda has been put 
will usually overcome the gloss enough to allow the 
spread of the paint easily. 

Creeping and Crawling Paint.—These difficulties 
with paint are caused by the same conditions as are as- 
signed for tacky paint, slow drying, runs, sags and 
wrinkles. Slow drying, too much gloss on undercoats, 
wet weather, wet surfaces and cold temperatures are at 
the bottom of such troubles. The remedy is proper mix- 
ing of undercoats, sufficient and correct brushing or 
spraying of the paint, wiping with benzine rags or 
rubbing down gloss with sandpaper. 

Flies, Gnats and Dust.—Note what was written about 
tacky paint, slow drying and also about discoloration of 
paint. 

Streaking of New Paint Coats—Sometimes on brush- 
ing out new coats of paint little dark streaks or clouds 
of color are noted on the surface. This is always due 
to insufficient mixing or improper mixing. The streaks 
are caused by little specks of tinting color paste which 
were not well mixed with the paint. Strain the paint 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 967 


through a metal screen or cheese cloth and mix well to 
remove the color not broken up. 

Fading Out of Color in Spots——When too few coats 
of paint have been spread upon a dry and porous sur- 
face the oil is likely to sink into the very dry spots. 
Then the gloss will disappear from those spots and the 
color of the paint will also change. Gray paints are 
likely to show this blotched appearance more than others. 
Lamp black appears to fade or bleach out when the oil 
leaves the surface. 

Yellowing of White Paint—Considering first paint 
mixed for and exposed on exterior surfaces, the most 
prominent causes of yellowing is the presence of a heavy, 
non-volatile mineral oil. Even kerosene in quantity will 
turn white paint yellow. Linseed oil is yellow and when 
mixed with white paint there is first an impression of a 
yellowish cast, but that disappears after thorough mixing 
and spreading the paint on to the surface. But mineral 
oils turn yellow on being exposed to the air and conse- 
quently white paint containing mineral oil turns yellow, 
too. Mineral oil also tends to dissolve gums or pitch in 
some woods, bringing them to the surface and causing 
more discoloration of a yellowish or brownish nature. 

Another cause of yellowing is the presence of alkaline 
substances. When linseed oil soap is made it is simply 
the result of the combination of linseed oil and an alkali. 
Such soap is dark yellow. So when there is present on 
a surface an alkali like soda ash, borax; silicate of soda 
éte., the oil will saponify and turn yellow. Then the 
paint will appear yellow, too. . 

Ammonia fumes from ice making plants or other 
sources have been known to turn white paint yellow, 
but there are few opportunities for sufficient fumes of 
this sort to act upon paint. 

Storm sash and window screens which have been re- 
cently painted and almost immediately stored away in 
dark rooms will be found to have turned quite yellow. 


368 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


The reason for this is plain. Sunlight is required to 
bleach out the linseed oil used in white paint. When 
these screens or sash are exposed to the sunlight a week 
or two, however, the paint will bleach out white. 

The yellowing of white paint and white enamel on in- 
teriors is more often noticed. The use of linseed oil in 
interior white paint should be carefully proportioned. 
Use it sparingly in the undercoats on new plaster and 
wood and not at all for finishing coats. Use turpentine 
or flatting oil as a thinner. Use white enamel in the 
finishing coats to gain a gloss surface. White enamel 
and turpentine or any light colored varnish and tur- 
pentine will give your interior white paint coats all the 
gloss you want and a more washable surface. 

Discoloration of Paints.—The discolorations due to 
yellowing and to mildew are discussed elsewhere in this 
chapter. 

The most common discoloration of paints, perhaps, is 
the result of mixing the paint so that it dries too slowly, 
remains tacky so long that considerable dust, pollen from 
growing plants or multitudes of small flies, gnats or 
other insects accumulate on the surface and stick to the 
paint. The remedy for this defect is obvious. Mix the 
paint to dry reasonably fast and avoid the slow drying, 
tacky paint discussed early in this chapter. 

The pollen from trees, flowers and grasses is a much 
more fruitful source of discoloration of fresh paint than 
might be thought. The pollen is very abundant at 
certain seasons; it is more or less sticky and while it is 
yellow or light color while alive, the decayed pollen is 
nearly black and will stick to old paint as well as to new. 
After a surface has been wet by rain the paint is some- 
what softer and both pollen and dust from roads, roofs 
or nearby fields will stick to the paint and discolor it. 

Probably the average painter leaves this proposition 
pretty much in the hands of fate. He can mix his paint 
to minimize the risk of discoloration by making his 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 369 


finishing coat harder,—by using less oil, more turpentine 
so as to put more pigment on the surface closely packed. 
But here he is confronted with the loss of high gloss, 
which is of little or no consequence up to a certain point 
except as the customer may think it important,—and he 
is also tempted to make his paint too hard by the mix- 
ture of pigments and so risk cracking and sealing of the 
paint. This, like most other problems in this business, 
is one where good judgment must be shown to establish 
a nice balance in the mixing and composition of the 
paint and its application. 

The use of raw linseed oil without japan drier or the 
use of oil which has been adulterated to the point where 
slow drying occurs is the usual cause of paint discolor- 
ation by dust, smoke ete. Your paint should be mixed 
to dry dust free in not more than twelve hours. 

An accumulation of rust from metal roofs, rain 
gutters ete, and accumulations of dust and soot have 
been known to wash down and discolor not alone fresh 
paint but old paint. 

In some instances severe electrical storms will turn 
white paint gray in spots or in large areas, but the cause 
has apparently not been learned. 

Discoloration by Sulphur Gas.—White paint and light 
tints are sometimes turned gray or darker by contact 
with sulphur gas. Industrial districts, where much soft 
eoal is burned, throw off quite a volume of sulphur gas. 
Oil refineries and many other industries generate this 
gas, Coke ovens, steel and iron furnaces liberate this 
gas. 

Sulphuretted hydrogen gas which is given off by 
stagnant water of swamps, sewage and manure heaps 
or similar decaying matter will discolor white paints 
and light tints made from lead compounds. White lead, 
carbonate, is changed by sulphuretted hydrogen gas to 
lead sulphide which is black. This gas has the odor 
characteristic of rotten eggs. This discoloration is not 


370 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


at all of common occurrence and usually it is not per- 
manent. 

Discoloration from Copper.—The increasing use of 
copper wire fly screens and of copper for roof decks, 
rain gutters and down spouts is presenting a problem 
for painters the solution of which apparently has not yet 
been arrived at. 

The corrosion of copper forms a greenish black in- 
erustation on the surface which washes down during 
rains over white and light colored paint under windows 
and elsewhere. This dark stain penetrates the paint 
and it is quite impossible to remove it. The only remedy 
appears to be to paint over the stained areas and then 
coat the gutters, etc., with paint. The fly screens can 
of course be painted or coated with spar varnish to pre- 
vent this defect. There appears to be no other way, 
since the action of the weather on the copper is a con- 
tinual process. As fast as the rain washes off the 
accumulation another forms and so the paint is stained 
anew scveral times each season. 

Discolor:tion from Mildew.—Some _ discolorations 
thought to be mildew are accumulations of pollen from 
plants and trees. Inspection with a microscope to note 
the plant formation is the best test. Mildew is a fungus 
or vegetable growth. A ‘wet cloth rubbed over mildew 
will usually show a green stain on the cloth. 

Mildew develops most readily in hot, humid climates 
and in hot weather. The spores are sometimes found in 
new wood and sometimes the growth starts on top of the 
paint, penetrating through many coats and forming a 
black or dark discoloration. Soft, elastic paint rich in 
oil offers a more favorable condition than hard paint 
surfaces. And, of course, slow drying or tacky paint 
offers ideal reception to the development of mildew. 
Painting done in hot, humid weather is most likely to ae- 
quire this defect. Once mildew appears on a surface it 
is: not easy to eliminate it, but it ean be done. 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 371 


As to the remedy for mildew and its prevention several 
points are of interest. On surfaces where mildew has 
appeared the first step is to scrub the dark spots with 
warm water and strong soap, laundry soap, using steel 
wool. Then thoroughly wash off with clear water and 
let the surface dry. When dry sandpaper these spots 
and coat with turpentine or a very weak solution of 
mercurous chloride and water. 

Surfaces which have been treated as above should be 
painted with paint having little oil in it. The first coat 
may be mixed with about half-class linseed oil made 
from North American seed, not LaPlata oil, and half tur- 
pentine. Allow plenty of time for each coat to dry be- 
fore putting on another coat. On new, porous, soft wood 
it is wise in some cases to increase the amount of oil a 
little and decrease the turpentine for the first coat. The 
object is to make a hard paint film which offers a mini- 
mum opportunity for the mildew spores to develop. So 
the second coat on old work may be mixed with only 
about 31% gallons of raw linseed oil and 1144 pints of tur- 
pentine to 100 lbs. of lead when lead is being used. When 
prepared paint is used pour off the oil on the top and re- 
place about one forth of it with turpentine. When raw 
oil is used about 1 pint of good drier is needed for the 
100 Ib. lead mixture. 

When mildew has penetrated several coats of paint 
and is lodged in the wood the washing with soap and 
water may not do any good. It is necessary in such 
cases to treat the mildew spots with a germicide to kill 
the growth or it will continue and come to the surface 
through many coats of paint. A wash of a weak solution — 
of corrosive sublimate (bichloride of mercury, or mer- 
curous chloride) should be brushed on with an old ealci- 
mine brush. One ounce of corrosive sublimate to three 
gallons of water is about the correct strength for this 
germicide. When this wash is dry apply the paint, but 
not before. A small percentage of this germicide in 


372 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


the paint will be beneficial. When the corrosive sub- 
limate is to be added to the paint dissolve one ounce 
of the chemical in a very little denatured alcohol and 
mix it into each gallon of paint for the first coat and 
the second coat. Mix this chemical well into the paint 
and also stir the paint occasionally while in use to keep 
the mixture right, otherwise the chemical will settle to 
the bottom of the pot. Remember that corrosive sub- 
limate is a deady poison. Handle it with care. Keep 
it out of cuts in your skin and out of the way of 
children. 

In addition to reducing the oil content of paint to a 
safe minimum on surfaces which are subject to mildew 
some painters like to add a little zine oxide to white 
lead mixed for the last coat only to make a little harder 
wearing surface. About 15 per cent or 20 per cent of 
zine will serve this purpose. : 

Spotting of Paints—The usual spotting noted is in 
the form of lighter spots on light tinted paints. These 
occur most often around putty, nail heads and along 
cracks. This kind of spotting appears more often in two 
coat work than in three coat jobs. It is the result of 
putting on to the wood too little oil or not enough coats 
of paint to satisfy suction of the wood in very dry, 
porous places. When the oil sinks into the porous places 
the pigment appears lighter in color but when more 
oil is added to those spots the color often returns to the 
original hue. The remedy is that of allowing plenty of 
time for each coat to dry so that this spotting will show 
up before the final coat is put on and so the spots can 
be touched up with more paint or oil before finishing 
the job. Gray paints and blue paints are especially 
likely to develop this spotting defect. The gray ap- 
pears to bleach out in spots and sometimes in large 
patches. 

A different kind of spotting sometimes results when 
an upper story of a house is finished with plaster stucco. 


PAINTING DEFECTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 373 


Little splashes of lime drop on to the unfinished wood 
below. If not completely removed this hot lime burns 
the life out of the oil in the paint andscauses the color 
to bleach out. 


CHAPTER XVIII 
THE PAINT SHOP 


APPRECIATION of the important part which the paint 
shop plays toward the realization of profits in a painting 
business is growing greater year by year. As contract- 
ing painters see more of modern factory planning, 
organization and equipment they realize the necessity 
for applying the same principles of organization and 
management to their own businesses. And that is very 
encouraging to all concerned, because it is doubtful if 
any other business can be found which requires in its 
every day conduct of business so many materials, so — 
many tools of varying kinds and such a quantity of 
other equipment all at the same time. This great va- 
riety of materials, tools and equipment properties makes 
the opportunities for loss by poor management greater 
and also the benefits from good management the more 
attractive. 

The question before us, then, is—what is a good shop ? 
It has always been necessary in the painting business to 
keep expenses down and it always will be necessary. 
The same is true in all business undertakings. The most 
successful merchants do not have fine stores because they 
can afford them, but because it pays to have them, it is 
good business. If a painter waits until he has ac- 
cumulated enough money to have a fine shop to support 
just as a luxury that is poor business. And for that 
reason he probably would not support a fine shop as a 
luxury because by the time he learns how to make 


enough money to do that he is too good a business man 
374 


THE PAINT SHOP 375 


to support anything which doesn’t pay as a business 
proposition. 

The right kind of a shop will pay its way and bring in 
more business. By the right kind of shop is meant one 
which is well located for business reasons, one which is 
adequately heated, lighted, decorated and arranged in 
a way which will make customers and employes alike 
feel that here is a business which is sound and knows 
what it is about ;—that is confidence and more business 
ean be built upon confidence than upon cold cash in the 
bank. 

Shop Locations.—Several considerations enter into the 
selection of a shop to be rented or to be built. A cen- 
tral location, one where the shop will be quite as near 
one part of the section to be drawn upon for trade as 
another, has always been considered of first importance. 
It is important but not so important as at one time. 
The use of automobiles and trucks has made it possible 
to select better locations which are sometimes not 
central. 

The placing of a painter’s shop on the main business 
street or in a good location down town where many 
people pass by and see it has been considered unim- 
portant. As a matter of fact it is of great importance. 

So a shop in a good location where many people may 
see it along with other businesses of the community will 
pay well by keeping the painter’s name before the pro- 
spective customers, by making it easy for the customers 
to drop in and talk about their needs in the line of 
painting and decorating, by making it possible to display 
samples of decorating and painting jobs done in at- 
tractive shop windows not only to indicate the skill of 
the painter but also to suggest jobs which others may 
want done. 

The other factors involved in the selection of a lo- 
cation are rents, prices of land, taxes, insurance, trans- 


376 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


portation conveniences for the journeymen and a few 
. others of less importance. 

Plans and Arrangements——Many satisfactory plans 
and arrangements of the essentials of a good shop may 
be made, depending upon the size and shape of the 
shop at hand. Plate 141 offers some suggestions which 
may be of benefit in this direction. 

Lighting Essentials—Few factors are of greater im- 
portance in a paint shop where good work is to be done 
than light. And daylight is far better than any arti- 
ficial light, so the paint shop should come as near in 
design to a greenhouse as is practical. At least large 
windows and many of them are highly desirable. Then 
in addition electric lights of ample size and well dis- 
tributed with extension cords are likewise important for 
dark days. Surprisingly poor painting and decorating 
ean be done with poor light and without the knowledge 
or intention of even good workmen. Then the matter of 
colors always enters. Good judgment of colors cannot 
be had unless the light is good, and natural light is 
necessary unless the special electric light bulbs made for 
color correction are used. 

The Paint Shop Office—Most craftsman dislike office 
work, but that doesn’t help the business any and usually 
is a great detriment to it. A light, clean and warm shop 
is essential, and doubly so when women are about for 
helping with this part of the business. Another point, 
customers are apt to call and a businesslike office is one 
of the strongest factors toward building up confidence 
in the shop and the service it sells. 

The Material and Tool Stock Room.—It would be dif- 
ficult to find a business which loses more money in tools 
and materials which are wasted by carelessness and lost 
by theft. Most factories large and small have en- 
countered the same problem and the universal practice 
is that of establishing a stock room in charge of one 
man who is held responsible for materials and tools re- 


THE PAINT SHOP 377 


5 
; LADDERS 5 
; TRESTLES PAINT : 
Hl STAGES ; 
ae ie MIXING ‘ 


Room 


susie lolabGneaie 


--%-- _—— 


_ 


ww twee wenss - © SR seas 66 2 Som SS 


AUTOMOBILE 
PAIN TING 


we 
--Q-°°3rO- for 


ROUGH AND CLEANUP 
WORK ~ PLAIN PAINTING 


'- 


wo 
o° 


AUTO 
PAINTING 


“Psat 
co) 
Ws 


FINISHING 
Room 


we ee ee ee mre eee 


Tac 


2o i 


a= 
DISPLAY 


FURNITURE 
Finigning 


e- won eew rnc se ese eewe er 





Plate 141.—A better Paint Shop Plan. For efficlent operation 
and all year round work 
ceived and what is issued for each job on requisitions 
signed by some one in authority. With such an arrange- 
ment the materials and tools received can be checked up, 
materials sent to jobs will be known and materials re- 
turned and used on jobs will be known. 
Paint Mixing Facilities—A great deal of time is lost 
in most shops by not having reasonable facilities for 


378 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


mixing materials. In some shops not even a bench is 
available and the idea of mixing by machine power seems 
quite novel to many. No shop which even pretends to 
handle expensive labor with methods which assure a 
fair day’s work for fair pay should be without a mixing 
bench of good size which is covered with sheet iron and 
which has shelves on it to conveniently carry all colors, 
liquids and tools needed in mixing materials, 

Large batches of materials can be much more profit- 
ably mixed with power mixers and much better paints 
are so mixed than can be done by hand. Plate 98, 
Chapter V, pictures such mixers. At least one of these 
machines should be in service near every mixing bench. 

Storage tanks for oils, turpentine, benzine, varnishes, 
ete., located in the basement with hand pumps near the 
mixing bench constitute an important and safe equip- 
ment in any shop. Where barrels are used racks and 
proper provision for measuring and weighing should be 
at hand. Also spigots of a non-leaking type should be 
used and locks provided for each barrel. 

About the Shop Man.—The opportunity for keeping 
a dirty and disorderly shop is far greater in the painting 
business than in others, especially when labor costs are 
high as compared to material costs, but the urgency of 
orderly conduct of business and arrangement of shops 
is also greater, due.to fire risks and the loss of materials 
and tools. It is doubtful if any shop ean be properly 
kept in order without at least one man of a neat and 
orderly disposition and above all an honest man to take 
eare of this end of the business. 

The Finishing Room.—A paint shop which is going to 
do high class finishing of furniture, automobiles and any 
other jobs of that character must be clean throughout 
and must be arranged in such a way as will permit 
keeping the place clean without too much work. 

Having one room set apart for doing mussy, dirty 
jobs is one way to help keep the main shop clean. Such 


THE PAINT SHOP 379 


a place is essential for the cleaning of automobiles, 
scraping and sanding of furniture, removing paint and 
varnish, etc. 

Then a room for doing finishing with fine color coats 
and varnishes is likewise essential. In such a room ar- 
rangement should be made to keep it free from dust, for 
increasing or decreasing the ventilation and for main- 
taining temperature up to 100 degrees or more when 
necessary. Absolute control of dust, air and heat, as 
well as moisture, is essential for best results. 


CHAPTER XIX 
OXIDIZING COPPER SURFACES 


Tu use of copper for store and shop fronts, for can- 
opies out over doors and sidewalks at hotel and theatre 
entrances, for cornices, rain gutters, down spouts, roof 
decks and elsewhere is becoming quite extensive. And 
in consequence painters are called upon at times to has- 
ten the natural oxidizing of the copper to gain a mottled 
bright green color. This is the appearance given to 
copper by long exposure and is called patina. It is 
sometimes mistakenly called verdigris. 

Verdigris Green Finishes.—Real patina is an incrus- 
tation, a corrosion of the copper metal resulting from 
gases or other atmospheric conditions. Verdigris green 
finishes are paint coatings. 

Verdigris finishes are put on to wood, iron and other 
surfaces by first painting them with a copper color to 
dry without gloss. Then the tinting color known as ver- 
digris green, ground in oil, is used as a glazing color 
over the flat copper colored surface. A glazing liquid 
composed of about half boiled linseed oil, one fourth 
turpentine and one fourth benzine is mixed up and a 
thin coat is brushed on to the copper ground color. 
Then a little of the glazing liquid is mixed with the 
verdigris green paste and daubs of the green are put on 
here and there while the glazing liquid is wet. Then a 
wad of cheese cloth is used to stipple the surface and to 
motile ‘and blend. the oblor out: Ante an imitation of the 
aatural patina. ‘ "For exterior “exposure 4 coat of spar 


varnish should be put on to pee the surface from the 
ef? 8380 5 7 


7 q i ( a o €E€ Ss 
Lad ye . Nae eeice cheater Caaee eee € (Onemne 


OXIDIZING COPPER SURFACES 381 


weather. A stippling brush may be used to do the 
blending instead of the cheese cloth. 

Natural Copper Patina.—Real patina, serugo nobilis, 
on copper is called antique bronze by some and is simply 
basic carbonate of copper or hydroxide of copper, a 
chemical change in the copper metal produced by at- 
mospherie and earth conditions. A long time is re- 
quired to make the change on the surface of the metal 
by natural incrustation. It takes too long, so painters 
hasten the process in this manner. 

Scrub the surface clean with warm water in which a 
little sal soda, washing soda, has been dissolved. Use 
fine steel wool for the scrubbing. Next wash off the 
copper with clear water and wipe dry. 

Several acid and alkaline solutions with water can 
be used for producing the natural patina, but some are 
better than others. Acid solutions work more slowly 
than alkaline. The acids dissolved in water and used 
for this work are acetic, oxalic and muriatic. The al- 
kalines dissolved in water and used in solutions are sal 
ammoniac and carbonate of ammonia. 

Here are some of the formulas used for producing 
natural patina without waiting for the slow natural 
action of the atmosphere and age. One of the most dur- 
able of finishes of this kind on copper is produced by 
this solution. Four or five days are required for the 
final color to appear, although sorhe change is noticeable 
at once: 

1 ounce sal ammoniac 
3 ounces tartaric acid 
9 ounces common salt 
15 ounces boiling water 


Dissolve the above in the boiling water and then add 


8 ounces of a solution of nitrate of 
copper of a specific gravity of 1.100 


Brush this mixture on to the clean copper, let it dry 


382 HOUSE PAINTING METHODS 


a few minutes and repeat the wash several times. This 
formula acts with greater speed when the air is moist 
than when dry. A rainy day is a good time to do the 
job. More salt in the solution makes the finish more 
greenish in tone, while less salt gives a bluish color. 
Another formula which is sometimes used follows. 
It is even slower to gain the final color than the first 
formula mentioned : 


1 ounce acetic acid, 1.04 specific gravity 
50 ounces water 


Sponge the surface several times each day with this 
solution after cleaning it to as bright a finish as pos- 
sible. In two or three days a coating of acetate of cop- 
per will appear. Then in contact with the carbonic acid | 
in the air this incrustation will form carbonate of copper 
which is very similar to natural patina. It will take a 
week or two before the final color appears on the copper, 
although some color will appear almost at once. 

A third solution used for oxidizing copper is mixed 
this way: 


2 ounces sal ammoniaec 
5 ounces tartaric acid 
22 ounces common salt 
40 ounces copper nitrate solution in water, specific 
gravity 1.100 
30 ounces common vinegar 
3 ounces water 


A. fourth solution used for quick results is mixed in 
this way: 


4 ounces verdigris green 
2 ounces sal ammoniac 
1 quart acetic acid, 15% strength 


Brush on and repeat if necessary to get color wanted. 
Wash off, let dry and brush on a coat of thin spar 
varnish. 


INDEX 


A 
Acetylene gas burners, 123. 
Adjustable folding scaffold, 96 
Agitators, paint, 132 
Air and material regulating de- 
vice, 64 
Air compressor, 63 
Air pressure balance, 330 
Air storage tank, 64 
Alcohol, 222 
Aluminum bronze paint, 245 
American Vermilion, 248 
Amyl Acetate, 222 
Anchorage, 272 
Asbestine, 201 
Asphaltum paint, 247 
Atlantie City paint tests, 232 
Attractive colors, 188 
Automatic governor 
er, 63 


unload- 


B 


Badger hair blender, 61 

Banana oil, 222 

Barytes, 200 

Basswood, 282 

Beach air brush, 66 

Benzine, 220 

Benzol, 221 

Binks airway paint gun, 65 

Black paint, 181 

Blistering and peeling, 354 

Blow torch, 121 

Blue lead, 240; 
mulas, 242 

Blue paint, 186 

Brick, cleaning, 


mixing for- 


270; liners, 


68; lining, 270; new, 268; 
old, 269; paints and paint- 
ing, 263; staining, 270 

Bridling brushes, 44 

Bristles, 22 

Brown Paint, 182 

Brush, badger flowing, 60; 
construction, 25; Dutch eal- 
cimine, 52; extension handle, 
126; fitch flowing, 60; flat 
artists’, 55; flat calcimine, 
51; flat color, 61; flat duster, 
54; flat roof painting, 56; 
flat sash, 49; flat varnish, 50; 
flat wall, 45; flat wall stucco, 
46; floor waxing, 57; fresco 
stencil, 59; holding the, 37; 
metal-bound, 47; oval sash, 
49; oval varnish and paint, 
48; revolving steel wire, 
255; round duster, 53; 
round roof painting, 97; 
soft flowing, 59; steel wire, 
133; stencil, 58; wall stip- 
pling, 54; water color or 
cove, 50; whitewash, 52 

Brushes, bridling, 44; keeping 
for long periods, 32; care of, 
30; deseription, uses and 
care, 22; for painters and 
decorators, 22; prices of, 
28; reclaiming hard, 35; 
use of, 36 

Brushing, 304; spraying and 
dipping, 259 

Bulking values 
195 

Bung spout, 135 


of pigments, 


INDEX 


; C 
Cedar, 283 
Cement and brick paint and 
painting, 263; floors, 267; 
preparing old, 265 
Cement-set brushes, 27 
Chalking, 360 
Chestnut, 284 
China wood oil, 215 
Coats, second and third, 306 
Color cards and formulas, 181 
Color, transparent, 175 
Colors, fading of, 176; mixing 
dark, 178; changing, 193; 
opaque, 174; tinting, 173 
Copper surfaces, oxidizing, 380 
Cornice hook, 102 
Cottonwood, 282 
Cracked and scaled paint, 273 
Creeping and crawling, 341 
Creosote oil, 217 
Cypress, 279 
Defects, painting, causes and 
remedies, 350 
DeVilbiss spray gun, 65 
Dipping, 259, 345 
Discoloration, 368 
Douglas fir, 281 
Drier, extra, 158 
Driers, 203, 223 
Drop cloths, 139 
Durability of sprayed paint, 
340 
E 
Enamel for exterior surfaces, 
314 
Estimating material required, 
285 
Eureka spray gun, 69 
Expansion and contraction, 273 
Extension ladder, 90 
Exterior doors, paint for, 311 
Exterior stains and staining, 
344 
F 


Factory ready-mixed paint, 189 
Fading, 367 


Felt rubbing pad, 143 

Finishing room, 378 

Floor paint, 164; surfacing 
machine, electric, 139; wax- 
ing brush, 57 

Formulas, for stains, 348; for 
white paint, standard, 156 

Fresco angle liners, 55 


G 
Galvanized iron surfaces, 257 
Glass eutter, 136 
Gloss, loss of, 362 
Glue-set brushes, 27 
Graining stippler, 62 
Graphite, 243 
Gray paint, 181 
Green paint, 186 


H 
Hard pine, 277 
Health and spray gun, 339 
Hemlock, 281 
Hog bristle, 23 
Hoisting machine, 109 
Holding gun at correct angle, 
326 
Holding the brush, 37 
Horse hair, 23 
Hose and connections for spray 
guns, 76 


Iron and steel surfaces, 255 
J 
Job of painting with brush, 299 


K 


Knife, mixing, 131 
Knots and hitches, 115 
Knots, treatment of, 303 


L 
Ladder brackets, 94, 97; exten- 
sion feet, 92 
Ladders, scaffolds and swing 
stages, 83 
Linseed oil, 205 
Lithopone, 199 


INDEX 


M 


Machinery, care of, 335 

MacLeod paint sprayer, 68 

Market survey, 17 

Matthews material gun, 66 

Measuring structural iron sur- 
faces, 293 

Measuring surfaces, 286 

Menhaden fish oil, 217 

Metal cleaning tools, 250; cor- 

' rosion, 230; paints and paint- 
ing, 230; paints, average 
ratings of, 233 

Mills, paint, 128 

Mineral spirits, 220 

Mixing and tinting paint, 300; 
eolored paints, 177; facts, 
general, 145; machines, 
paint, 130; white lead, 148 

Moulding scraper, 135 


N 


Naphtha, solvent, 221 
Natural copper patina, 381 
Neutralizing new cement, 264 


O 


Oil and water separator, 78 

Oil, China wood, 215; creosote, 
217; Menhaden fish, 217; 
perilla, 215; soya-bean, 216 

Oxidizing copper surfaces, 380 


ik 


Paasche air brush, 67 

Paddles, 130 

Paint agitator, 64 

Paint, amount of in pounds, 
159 

Paint defects, 214; factory 
ready-mixed, 189; mixing 
facilities, 377; oils, prepared, 
214; oils, thinners, driers 
and removers, 203; painter- 
mixed, 144; runs, 342; shop, 
374; storage tank, 64 

Painter-mixed paints, 144 


Painting, cement and brick, 
263; defects, causes and 
remedies, 350; where to be- 
gin, 306; with a brush, 299; 
with the spray gun, 316 

Para red vermilion, 248 

Penetration and anchorage of 
paint, 272 

Perilla oil, 215 

Pigments, characteristics of, 
194 

Pneumatic scaling hammer, 254 

Poplar, 279 

Pots and tubs, 131 

Power unit, 64 

Priming coat, 303 

Prince’s mineral, 202 

Proficiency in color mixing, 179 

Pulley block, 103 

Purposes served by paint, 20 


Putty gun, automatic, 137; 
knife, 124; mixing, 165 
Q 
Quantities of lead, liquids, 151 
R 


Ratings of metal paints, aver- 
age, 233 

Red Lead, 
mulas, 237 

Red paint, 184 

Redwood, 283 

Remover formulas, paint, 227 

Removers, 203, 225 

Removing cracked and scaling 
paint, 308 

Roof ladder hooks, 94 

Roofs, mottled colored, 346 

Rope falls, 104; materials, 106; 
eare of, 106; lubricating, 
107; storing, 107 

Rubbing pad, 125 

Rung repair plate, 93 


Ss 


Sand bellows, 134 
Sand-blast machine, 252 


234; mixing for- 


INDEX . 


Scaffold, 83, 300; built up, 
117; equipment, 320; planks, 
90 


Sealed paint, 273 

Seraper, 132 

Seraping knife, 125 

Shingles, dipping, 345; stain- 
ing old, 346 

Ship scraper, 136 

Shop Man, the, 378 

Shop, the paint, 374; lighting, 
376; locations, 375; office, 
376; plans, 376; stock room, 
376 

Silica (silex), 200 

Simons paint spray brush, 69 

Soya-bean oil, 216 

Spotting, 372 

Sprayco paint gun, 68 

Spray guns, 63; cleaning, 332 

Spray gun coats, number of, 
337; distance from surface, 
329; management, 319; mov- 
ing over surface, 329; paint- 
ing, 316; size and kind of, 
317; spread or pattern, 324 

Spray painting equipment, 63 

Sprays, fan and cone, 325 

Spreading paint, 39 

Stain formulas, 348 

Staining brick, 270 

Stains and staining, exterior, 
344 

Steel trestles, 85; wool, 142 

Step Ladder, 88 

Stock white, 201 

Storage tanks, colors for, 261 

Strainers, 127 

Straining paint, 149 

Swing stage, 83, 99 

Surfaces, cement, 291; meas- 
ruing structural iron, 293; 
metal, 291; new brick, 291; 
new wood, 290; old brick, 
291; old wood, 290; prepara- 
tion of, 249 

Survey of market for painting, 
17 


yi) 


Tacky paint, 364 

Testing linseed oil, 211 

Thinners, 203 

Tin plate, 258 

Tinting colors, adding, 150; 
their use, 172; ground in 
on ite 

Titanium oxide, 195 

Titanox, 195 


Tools, miscellaneous painters’, 


121, 302 
Trestles, 85 
Trowel pointing, 143 
Trucks and skids, 79 


Tubs, 131 
Turpentine, 218; substitutes, 
219 
Vv 
Verdigris green finishes, 380 
W 


Washing, 363 

Weather-beaten surface, paint 
for, 169 

Weather, painting, 307 

White lead, pure, 146 

White paint, standard formu- 
las for, 156 

White pine, 275 

bias and spray pumps, 

Whitewash, colored, 169; ex- 
terior, 167; interior, 166; 
lighthouse, 168; mixing, 166 

Whiting, 200 

Window bracket, 94 

Wold air brush, 67 

Woods and surfaces, study of, 
272 

po 
Yellowing, 367 
Yellow paint, 182 


Z 


Zine copper, 258 
Zine oxide, 160 











bas ey 


‘fT 
> 


ee OS 
Pres AN, 2 : 
mae, 4 la 





rs a iy < . ‘ = 
> ere eh 





oe 
pane) 
ae 





eiheecietenstnd 
oF i aes rn 


Swe uien enteral 











ae 


Delaabsht ite 
ses ba aol 





eg ogies 
See aac reas 





be 








ieee 
Mea ws 
eee wees 


nwewdaronesae 
ane 


haduiicbeichib 














inde dd ice charles 
he a alaley taleete wl grow 
Pit let We ciniaedfalnie 
fay se ele 
‘ EPS. 
~ 


calendar cdrel 
glean 


a 














MibdiNcde 











Pets ote y 





feratn! 

















Pb ah ye Bo aa fo 
a eraeeks 2 


ere 











ls iaab yd Deuter igh 








‘ : ; ; 2 lege vata dade tate plows 
Jpnigaretilealiaal ceeclg ef aietaae attuned tei ail ot ede Fb hy 

































sledge e dante 


antennae ramaeh 
eral 


ecnrivctrsanad elovaitonvaineys 
Giieicrwteuse decutoreedewryericee se 


Sogese ry 








ebapogeyef eens 





a 
Agvet 


Bese tenses uaa avabats eis 
handle 












« 





fae ceeds 
orteaicie eastaiat 
Seidel oce ene 

Seon DATE HEED ReS 
Deseo, 


See pie woes 
Shaeeinasamhiaaintaa eterna 
iis Aa 

















Sreeriae 
tie bis atihet 
Sas awe Vv Oe wale y rey: ¢ 3. 












‘tg walat 





bhatt tot aiding eae ahs ouehes Baa 
sathieehacs taba tas Fer oe nes Seale 
Sriesyt dha att aed 


Silvehetascdeetent Tele aet 
osehisg aoe ion 3 Pye eeite. 


ee 




















5 teas SSE 


sae 
hae 
ee teste 





Wi pe as ee. 


aah ah 











ate 


ee 
ae 








HPS Rae 








ede bg: 
Pathe aero eee ge 
SB SSRN EP AS asda tese 
iGeelececead ge Dee woeer mere ete aes digo aes 

eld gett eeepc tua Orla ielsteae Ase Ze anna ska aes 
eM ANS eee RR Lo RUDE MMW Re pote b ep Sc RBaC Ne oh BE Iet a tee 
a eittisl inate corer eroser sees 
SN aS He Meee ee 
Pere csatatae 


esa 





















eel ads coftealy 
ae 


Seal ghia tessa nee 





Socas gee coer 





1 































hg oe Hes Tart y 3 " fs ‘ : . wep) ¢ oy — 
fide dd ddbecartet A ah c 
erst f AU TACE LEST Caeser iee 
Enh labatevedones 

: ee beies 











pdt 








Sepa SNS Saas 

Seen ON ences eek 
PSS Soave 
eh ab sehen earektoo) 
Aes ret cnvlepsaweaee 








catretiaat ue ieee 

ctstasors tebe ee 

ees 
rire 












v5. 





Re BOE oD i og 














teencerrrs alee oeotdete katie aaeahine cakes eect het Oe P RR ARI ES 
Pere: co NR sebiieke 











sachet Boece eis ett 
eile topo te eee 

seuhaawa beetacaetineaaccea nae sreores retail 

se etciikd hairs alice Sole eae 
Shs hah ick RAAD SEE eee 
Saget oe soa aah Nis okt SIAR eat S et 
Peaees ek deneseens resp Aiea e Ne A Se soe ey aS 
eee CURE aL Mee een ie emu a eee seein eee Cai 
fetes Pepe RA BEI ASM A IS EAS SA 
Richa eich ainithints Soe ao 


seats 
















Abac in sewneerts noe 
panera i 


Bie een grit 
AgUaDLESDS i 


Seer Nae sees 

sla Petals 
yee lehtitceet eaatode ss 
ceuvhten Deity iaeh bial ocak Sect 
ght ent iAt dtodd chee te 
Bek eeh th Pula IANS AG at 








YP ctae thant 
becptcuidivaetoy uel 


has 








hid 




















Tap inert fh heh. 
Sayed dulce 


LEIS 
DOMRER ARR CER REL ARN 
nie 











































ees Valvabctaty chet 
a rtd d ad Dud els 








(es 


eae NOLES 












































i Hagristeseyoth "3 eee ee ath as Ee pub ayia bees Sree rails flies ea a DAW f es pe SUSU eee ggnatnannane, 
oe ‘ KW ede oat meat Y Speiven aesey yeni 7 
y ay 





iors aie 








Ay: 















dD PISS APE A Oa Pea ARN OCS UCI TAS U EIDE 
re ecegeiatonvatves ene Seateaeaotasteaall Set 
Pea eee Pe St nats 

pS av et ay SaRbn oy Sgestoaanal ag 
eget Ste ast 


ashe 
Gusset 


freapritasy 


BR eee ee eee eeLtey 


Ar 





a SILA INK a AF 

SOIT ES aN ny oat tenes 

eae AAPL eA IO 

LPS OI 

SIpAnRRnN tH ; cern coat 
regal sishan igang sous ie 

9: one cert 





































primer 
phase 
is 





Feet 








if y, 
| 2 









Ty Selig Z 





